A teacher who called in sick to attend a stag do in Portugal was caught after a colleague spotted photos of him at an airport holding a pint. Joe Wilson, a Year 6 teacher at Listerdale Junior Academy in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, told the school on the morning of his flight that he had been 'up all night being sick' and continued the lie the next day before returning to work on Monday, according to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).
The Deception Unravels
At around 5am on May 18, 2023, Wilson messaged: “I’m not going to be in school today. I’ve been up all night being sick and have got a really bad headache.” However, an anonymous staff member flagged photos of Wilson at an airport with a pint of beer in his hand. One photograph, posted by another person at 5.23am that same morning, bore the caption: “Early start for… stag do, few beers with the Portugal gaffer.”
Attempted Cover-Up
Wilson tried to cover his tracks by tearing pages from his passport. The TRA panel found this proved he was absent without proper reason and had falsely reported sickness. The removed pages would have contained stamps showing he was out of the country on the relevant dates. Wilson accepted responsibility for his actions and for calling in a false sickness absence, describing the passport page removal as a 'huge mistake'. He expressed shame over his conduct.
Outcome of the Hearing
The TRA panel determined that Wilson's conduct lacked integrity, was dishonest, and could bring the teaching profession into disrepute. However, they decided a prohibition order banning him from teaching was not proportionate. Instead, the publication of their findings was deemed sufficient.
