Loughborough lecturer sacked after making student apologise for suicide attempt Who we are Contact Advertise Tips UK Write Tips News Trash Agenda Trends Opinion Guides UK Belfast Birmingham Bournemouth Bristol Brookes Cambridge Cardiff Coventry Durham Edinburgh Exeter Glasgow King's Lancaster Leeds Lincoln Liverpool London Manchester Newcastle Nottingham Oxford Sheffield Soton St Andrews Sussex University of East Anglia Warwick York University lecturer sacked after forcing student to apologise for suicide attempt A court found that Loughborough University’s decision to dismiss Paul Leaney was correct 2 months ago Danny Shaw News UK A Loughborough lecturer was sacked after he forced a student to apologise to their flatmates following an a suicide attempt, The Times reports. Paul Leaney is also said to have instructed flatmates of the student (known as Student X) to tell them how the suicide attempt made them feel. At an employment tribunal this week, the judge ruled that Loughborough University’s decision to dismiss Paul Leaney was correct. Paul Leaney had worked at the university since 1979 and was a warden at the halls where Student X attempted to take their own life back in 2018. After the incident, Leaney organised a meeting with Student X and their flatmates. In the meeting, Leaney referred to Student X as “selfish”, also wrongly revealing the method they used to try and take their own life. Leaney told Student X they “had six weeks to show they were making an effort with their mental health,” after which point they could face expulsion, the court heard. Leaney’s actions were investigated. The lecturer thought he was being targeted for his “old-fashioned thinking” so he sued, alleging constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal is where an employer seriously breaches their contract with the employee, allowing the employee to resign over their conduct. Leaney continued to work following the incident with Student X, so the judge found that he had not been constructively dismissed. Leaney was set to retire in 2021 but this was brought forward a year. If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, please speak to someone or contact Samaritans on 116 123 at any time. You can contact Anxiety UK on 03444 775 774, Mind on 0300 123 3393, and Calm (Campaign against living miserably, for men aged 15 to 35) on 0800 58 58 58. You matter. Featured image via Shutterstock / Yuangeng Zhang Related stories recommended by this writer • Durham student and GB News pundit Sophie Corcoran claims she was bullied out of Tory party • Bill management company scraps some students’ energy packages and hikes up prices for others • From Wimbledon to Billie Eilish gigs – MPs given £100k worth of free tickets this summer Danny Shaw News UK Most Read Who lives at 657 Boulevard now What happened to real house from The Watcher on Netflix Hayley Soen Trash These 20 Russell Group universities are officially the best in the UK right now Izzy Schifano News All the 2022 MAFS UK cast s first Instagram posts compared to their most recent Katelyn Mensah Trash The creepy letters in The Watcher are real – here s what they each said in real life Hayley Soen Trash Meet Ruth Codd The 26-year-old who went from TikTok fame to The Midnight Club on Netflix Harrison Brocklehurst Trash Right just how successful are the millionaire cast of Bling Empire really Hayley Soen Trash The full true story behind the disgusting meat sandwich scene in the Jeffrey Dahmer series Hayley Soen Trash George has been ruled out of the Married at First Sight UK reunion by Channel 4 Harrison Brocklehurst Trash Guys Francis Bourgeois has his own show coming out next week Hayley Soen Trash Real Broaddus family was paid by Netflix for The Watcher and made demands about the show Hayley Soen Trash