University College London v Brown (Formal Oral Warning, ‘Sole or Main Purpose’): EAT 17 Dec 2020

The ET was entitled to find that the employer’s ‘sole or main purpose’ in giving the Claimant a formal oral warning for refusing to comply with an instruction to take down an email list he had created for union communications was ‘preventing or deterring him from taking part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time, or penalising him for doing so’ within the meaning of section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
The question of the employer’s ‘sole or main motive’ is a subjective question, to be judged simply by enquiring into what was in the mind of the employer at the time.
The question of whether the employee qualifies for protection under paras (a) to (c) of section 146(1) is an objective question, to be decided by the ET.
The ET made findings of fact on these questions which disclosed no error of law or other basis for a successful appeal.
The employer raised no data protection law issues until closing submissions: they were not raised in the pleadings, or in any of the witness statements, or in cross examination. In those circumstances, the ET would have been entitled not to entertain them. IRC v Ainsworth [2009] ICR 985; Peterbroeck, Van Campenhout and Cie SCS v Belgian State (Case C-312/93) [1995] ECR I-4599; Van Schijndel v Stichting Pensioenfonds voor Fysiotherapeuten [1996] 1 CMLR 401; and Van der Weerd v Minister Van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedseklwaliteit [2007] 3 CMLR 7 considered.
Having considered the data protection law issues, the ET made findings open to it on the evidence, and correctly referred to and applied the authorities on the question of whether the alleged breaches, if they were taken as established (which they were not), could be said to remove Mr Brown from the protection of section 146 : Morris v Metrolink Ratp Dev Ltd [2019] ICR 90 CA; Lyon v St James Press Ltd [1976] ICR 413 EAT; Bass Taverns Ltd v Burgess [1995] IRLR 596 CA.
The ET also correctly applied the burden of proof.

Citations:

[2020] UKEAT 0084 – 19 – 1712

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Employment

Updated: 07 December 2022; Ref: scu.661676