The Claimant was dismissed on 13 July 2017. Following a liability hearing, the ET upheld his claim of automatic unfair dismissal on the grounds of his protected disclosure on the day before his dismissal (s.103A ERA 1996). It also held that the Claimant had been subjected to detriment by the Respondent’s introduction of a new contract in March 2016 on the ground of a protected disclosure in October 2015 (ss.47B/48(1A) ERA 1996); but adjourned to the Remedy hearing an outstanding issue on the time limit for that claim (s.48(3)(4)).
In its Remedy Judgment, the ET held (i) time issue : that the introduction of the new contract in March 2016 was a ‘one-off’ event with continuing consequences, not an act which ‘extend[ed] over a period’ and continued until his dismissal in July 2017; that it was reasonably practicable to present the complaint within the 3-month period; and that accordingly the s.48(1A) claim was out of time; and (ii) compensation for unfair dismissal : that the application for an ‘ACAS uplift’ (s.207A TULRCA 1992) should be refused, as disciplinary procedures, both generally and within the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (2015), had no application to dismissal on the grounds of protected disclosures.
On the time issue, the EAT dismissed the Claimant’s appeal, upholding the ET’s decision that the introduction of the new contract was a one-off event with continuing consequences. On the ACAS uplift issue, the appeal was allowed. Whilst the ET was correct insofar as the Claimant’s application related to disciplinary procedures, on a fair reading the application also extended to the Grievance section of the ACAS Code of Practice. As the Respondent rightly accepted, the protected disclosure of 12 July 2017 was a grievance within the Code’s definition of a ‘concern, problem or complaint’; and thus potentially engaged the provisions of s.207A. Accordingly the matter was remitted to the ET for consideration of the application having regard to the Grievance section of the Code.
Citations:
[2020] UKEAT 0243 – 19 – 0705
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.655537