Sharon Shoesmith's wrongful dismissal claim upheld

Judges have recently upheld the claim by child protection boss Sharon Shoesmith that when she was let go from her job over the Baby P case it was a case of wrongful dismissal.

Ed Balls, the former children's secretary, has responded to the Supreme Court decision by saying that a change in the law should be made urgently, while the Department of Eduication described its disappointment at the ruling.

Lawyers working on behalf of Ms Shoesmith said that their client faced the brunt of political pressure and was removed from her post as a result.

Now it has been claimed that Ms Shoesmith, the former director of children's services at Haringey Council, could receive compensation to the tune of £1 million.

However, Daniel Barnett, an employment barrister at Outer Temple Chambers, told Localgov.co.uk that it is unlikely that the sum Ms Shoesmith receives will be this high.

He claimed that the amount she will receive will be indicative of what her wages would have been if she had been given a fair hearing by the London borough and not dismissed in an unfair fashion, rather than what she would have been paid had she stayed in her job until retirement.

Published by Hannah Carr