Can employers dismiss someone over a past personal relationship?

[Nicewoman]

Scott Mills - I wonder what happened? One day at work telling listeners see you tomorrow, the next minute instantly sacked. The media says it was due to a personal relationship 10 years ago. Surely they can’t sack you for your private life?

They can if it involves a child or vulnerable adult.

I think you'd have to behave very badly indeed to be sacked by the BBC.

Given the BBC's record for cover-ups I imagine it feels a need to be seen as squeaky clean these days.

Where was the word child used there is only the word teenager which suggests over the age of consent or the wording would have been different.

i dont think it was simply a relationship
it was something that happened in the relationship, his behaviour

Sort was was 24 (on 97) when the allegations occurred and the complainant may have been 17 or 18. There wasn't the power imbalance of age or wealth and who knows the complainants behaviour in the relationship may not have been idea.l

Its more odd than an odd thing.

The relationship was investigated by the police in 2016 and it was declared there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

The BBC has, as things stand, summarily ended the contract of a man where there is no proof of him having done anything wrong.

What on earth is going on?

There’s obviously more to this than we know. If they’ve sacked him without an investigation it must be pretty weighty.

After Saville, Hugh Edwards et al the BBC obviously have had to come down hard.

It makes you wonder if there’s anyone at the Beeb who isn’t a wrong un.

The BBC employs over 21,000 people. Are you seriously suggesting that because of the actions of three of them, you assume the rest are ‘wrong uns’?

Obviously not. But there won’t be 21,000 of them on the TV. It does seem like there’s a high prevalence of presenters/DJs that have had accusations made against them and the BBC does have a track record of turning a blind eye to such behaviours. There have been far more than the three I named. Rolf Harris, Freddie Starr, Dave Lee Travis, Greg Wallace, Russell Brand, just off the top of my head. There have been loads of them!

For Jimmy Saville to get away with offending for as long as he did, many, many people must have turned a blind eye. I don't know how many of them worked at the BBC though.

Also, why wasn't Gregg Wallace's behaviour addressed much sooner? The way the BBC dragged their heels on this persuaded me that the organisation hasn't really changed or learnt anything. I'm glad I don't have a TV licence and I don't plan on getting one.