Darryl Dumigan said she was unable to attend the meeting at The Mount School in December 2021 because her 90-year-old mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer and she needed to meet relatives to discuss her treatment and care.

At an employment tribunal in Leeds last year, a judge said the sacking was “wholly unreasonable” and “no reasonable employer” would have acted in this way.

The judge has now ruled the part-time piano and singing teacher, who had worked at the private school in Huddersfield since 1997, should be paid £16,802 in compensation.

The tribunal heard that Headteacher Christopher Seller had sent an email to all members of staff, telling them to attend the one-hour meeting in December 2021. He said it was “not optional” and there were “no exceptions”.

Ms Dumigan said she was unable to attend owing to family commitments, but did not tell Mr Sellers about “the importance of her family gathering”.

After she refused to attend the meeting several times, Mr Sellers sent an email saying “resignation accepted” and telling her she would be paid until the February half-term but did not need to return to school.

Mr Sellers argued that the music teacher was guilty of “gross misconduct” for missing the meeting, which had been arranged to discuss a serious safeguarding concern, even though she was not due to work that day.

During the tribunal, he claimed Ms Dumigan was “one of the most difficult members of staff” he had worked with at the school, since he took over with his wife Natalie in 2017.

But the employment judge said there was “no evidence” to support that allegation and he backed the music teacher’s claim for unfair and wrongful dismissal.

In his ruling, the judge said Ms Dumigan “had an exemplary employment record” and she had not faced disciplinary action over the previous 24 years, but Mr Sellers was “intent on dismissing” her.

The tribunal heard the two had fallen out before the meeting because the headteacher asked Ms Dumigan to go self-employed but she refused.

The judge stated: “I found that Mr Sellers had made his mind up about dismissing the claimant without ascertaining the facts regarding her refusal to attend the meeting by way of an investigation meeting.

“In fact, in his evidence stated precisely that the claimant would still have been dismissed if an investigation had been carried out.”

He added: “No reasonable employer faced with these circumstances would dismiss the claimant for the reason given.

“Dismissal in the circumstances was wholly unreasonable. Dismissal was not within the range of reasonable responses of a reasonable employer.”

Teacher sacked for missing staff meeting at Yorkshire prep school awarded compensation