Employers warned not to ignore ‘whistleblower’ concerns

The recent Employment Tribunal (“ET”) decision in Dr B Radeljic v University of East London: 3201164/2020, in which Meaby & Co successfully represented the Claimant, illustrates the dangers of an employer refusing

Constructive unfair dismissal;

Automatic unfair dismissal for making a protected disclosure (“whistleblowing”);

Detriment for making a protected disclosure; and

Wrongful dismissal.

In an unusually conclusive Judgment, the ET agreed with him and upheld all his claims.

Lessons To Be Learned By Employers

While remedy has yet to be determined or agreed between the parties, a number of lessons can be learned by employers faced with allegations from an employee which could be construed as “whistleblowing”. If an employee makes “protected disclosures” (qualifying disclosures in the public interest), an employer should not ignore those. If it does, it could have the following results:

1. An employee being entitled to claim that by not addressing his complaint, they are entitled to resign and claim that they have been constructively dismissed;
2. In those circumstances, they are unlikely to have been paid their notice pay, and if not, will be entitled to make a claim for “wrongful dismissal”;
3. If that is successful, the employee’s restrictive covenants fall away;
4. The Compensatory cap for a successful “ordinary unfair dismissal” claim is currently £89,493 or 52 weeks’ salary, whichever is the lower. There is no such cap on a successful “automatic unfair dismissal” claim, which is the claim governing an employee’s dismissal for whistleblowing.  Although the ET will make a determination on how much to award a successful Claimant based on the Claimant’s losses, it can substantially exceed the Compensatory cap for ordinary unfair dismissal.
5. The employer suffers significant reputational damage, both as a result of failing to address the original whistleblowing, and the subsequent negative publicity from the ET’s Judgment. It risks being perceived as an employer which does not value its employees or their views.

 

Meaby & Co have lawyers experienced in representing both claimants and respondents in ET claims, including whistleblowing.  Should you require further information on the above case or advice on its implications, please contact Chris Marshall on 0207 703 5034.

 

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