Arjomand-Sissan v East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust: EAT 17 Apr 2019

VICTIMISATION DISCRIMINATION – Protected disclosure
The Claimant was employed by the Respondent as an Information Management and Technology Manager between December 2005 and February 2016 when he resigned. By his claim presented in August 2015 and subsequently amended, he made complaints of race discrimination, unfair dismissal and whistleblowing. The latter comprised claims of detriments suffered between December 2009 and February 2016 in consequence of protected disclosures made between February 2007 and March 2015. Following a 12-day hearing all claims were dismissed. In respect of the whistleblowing claim the ET found that there were two protected disclosures and a number of detriments, but that there was no connection between the disclosures and the detriments.
Permission was granted to proceed to a Full Hearing of his appeal on some of the grounds relating to the whistleblowing claim. The essential grounds were that the ET (i) for the purpose of section 43B(1) Employment Rights Act 1996 confused the specificity required (a) within the disclosure and (b) in the case before the Tribunal: Blackbay Ventures Ltd v Gahir [2014] IRLR 416 cf. Bolton School v Evans [2006] IRLR 500; and (ii) in holding that certain of the disclosures were not qualifying disclosures within section 43B(1) and therefore were not protected disclosures, reached conclusions which were perverse.
The EAT dismissed the appeal, holding that there had been no error of law or perversity.

Judges:

Soole J

Citations:

[2019] UKEAT 0122 – 17 – 1704

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Employment Rights Act 1996 43B(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Employment, Discrimination

Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.637647