Azam v OFQUAL: EAT 19 Mar 2015

EAT Trade Union Rights: Dismissal – Automatic Unfair Dismissal – section 152(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (‘TULRCA’) – whether the reason or principal reason for the Claimant’s dismissal was that she had taken part or proposed to take part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time.
Dismissing the appeal:
The Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) had not erred in addressing the Respondent’s motive. The Claimant’s case before the ET had been that the Respondent had an ulterior motive in dismissing her for the reason given (her disclosure of confidential information and disregard of a direct instruction from a manager that she should not disclose and distribute that information) as it really wished to get rid of her due to other (unrelated) trade union activities. The ET found that was not the case.
In any event, and notwithstanding that focus of the Claimant’s case, the ET also considered whether the activity for which she was dismissed amounted to dismissal for a prohibited reason for section 152 TULRCA purposes. It found that the Claimant had deliberately misled the trade union branch executive committee by failing to inform it of the confidential nature of the information it then agreed she should distribute to members. In the circumstances, it concluded that the activity for which she had been dismissed fell outside the pursuit of any lawful trade union activity. That was a conclusion open to the ET on the facts and disclosed no error of law in terms of its approach.

Eady QC HHJ
[2015] UKEAT 0407 – 14 – 1903
Bailii
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 152(1)
England and Wales

Employment

Updated: 04 January 2022; Ref: scu.552823