Ms J Pelling v The Complete Care Group Limited — 2023

Ms J Pelling was employed by The Complete Care Group Limited as a community development worker from 4 August 2021 until her dismissal on 26 November 2021. She said she was dismissed for making disclosures about ZB's conduct at the respondent's care home, including allegations that ZB had lied about a resident-related incident, used a lighter to move a resident along by frightening him, and pushed a sock into a resident's mouth.

The tribunal applied s.43B ERA 1996 and the approach in Kilraine and Cavendish Munro. It found that all three matters were disclosures of information, but only the sock and lighter allegations met the public interest requirement and the requirement that the claimant believed they tended to show endangerment of health or safety. The phone allegation failed because the tribunal could not see how, on the evidence, it was in the public interest or how it was said to show a failure to comply with a legal obligation.

On causation, the tribunal found that the reason or principal reason for dismissal was the claimant's absence, not the protected disclosures. It accepted that the respondent had been experiencing staffing and absence problems and had already issued reminders about absence procedures. It also accepted that Mrs McWall had asked the claimant for further information at the 25 November 2021 meeting and had thanked her for raising concerns, which was inconsistent with dismissal being prompted by the disclosures.

The tribunal therefore dismissed the whistleblowing/automatic unfair dismissal claim. No remedy was awarded.