New figures for 2025 show rogue teachers are being thrown out of England’s classrooms at the rate of FOUR a week. The reasons can be absolutely disgraceful including teachers having sex with pupils. What if you are married to such a person? On learning of the shameful behaviour, you decide to divorce. When sorting out the finances, would the conduct be taken into account so that you receive a larger share of the marital assets? The answer to the question is ‘possibly’. There are 2 key elements that need to be present. First, the conduct must be so gross that it would be inequitable for it not to be taken into account. Clearly, should the pupil concerned be underage, that criteria would be met. Not so straight forward should the pupil be over the age of consent (16 years old). Second, the conduct must have caused you direct economic loss. In most cases that means lost earnings due to say periods of sick leave at work due to, say, depression directly linked to being made aware of the conduct. The UK Law Commission is looking into the issue and the initial scoping report recommends significant change in this area of the law. Z>UK DIVORCE agrees that the law needs reform. Certainly, serious domestic abuse should be taken into account. Watch this space.
