A farrier who used abusive language towards and bullied, intimidated or harassed an apprentice should be struck off the register, it has been ruled.
A Farriers Registration Council disciplinary committee concluded on Wednesday (30 June) that charges found to be proved against Charles Stuart Craig, of Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, amounted to serious professional misconduct.
The committee heard Craig, a registered farrier and practising approved training farrier responsible for education, training and mentoring of apprentices, had used abusive, homophobic and very offensive language towards the complainant, also telling him he was “thick”, incompetent and lazy.
They found Craig had told the complainant he would have to learn a new word every night and that if he could not give the meaning of the word the next morning, he would have to buy lunch for Craig and the other apprentices.
On at least one occasion, the apprentice had to buy Craig lunch when he could not remember the meaning of a word.
Craig made an offensive reply, including foul language, when the complainant said his dyslexia meant he found it difficult to answer questions.
He made inappropriate comments about the complainant’s father’s sex life, and told him he would have to buy lunch “for everyone” if he was late for work.
The panel also found Craig had failed to provide necessary safety equipment and/or reimburse him for buying such items, particularly eye and ear protection and boots and/or chaps.
Craig failed to help the complainant sufficiently with his theory work and/or revision, and did not pay him for work undertaken in August 2012.
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A statement from the council read: “In reaching their determination of the facts, the disciplinary committee ‘found Mr Craig to be a witness who was at times evasive’ and that ‘the committee did not find Mr Craig to be a wholly reliable witness’.”
The committee noted that the farrier had previously appeared before it in January 2002, when it was proved he had been abusive and bullying towards three apprentices, between 1996 and 2001, and that he had committed an “act of violence” towards another apprentice in 1998.
The disciplinary committee “imposed the sanction that Mr Craig’s name be removed from the Register of Farriers”.
The findings and sanction may be subject to appeal.
