Mr J Branson v Cova Security Gates Ltd — 2022

Mr Branson was employed by Cova Security Gates Ltd from 7 December 2020. He brought claims for unfair dismissal and detriment under s44(1)(c) Employment Rights Act 1996, saying he had raised health and safety concerns about ladder use and Covid practices. His wrongful dismissal claim had been resolved and was withdrawn at the start of the hearing.

The tribunal found that there was no health and safety representative or safety committee at the respondent, so s100(1)(c) and s44(1)(c) were capable of applying. It accepted that Mr Branson had raised concerns about the ladders with his supervisor, Kestutis Zaliausaas, and production manager Kevin Conway, and that he also made Covid-related disclosures in January 2021 by email and WhatsApp. The tribunal found that, in each case, he brought circumstances connected with his work to his employer's attention by reasonable means and that he reasonably believed they were harmful or potentially harmful to health and safety.

The unfair dismissal claim nevertheless failed because the tribunal found that the disclosures were not the reason, or principal reason, for dismissal. It found that Jonathan Trott, who made the final decision, did not know about the ladder disclosures, and that the Covid disclosures were not what was in his mind when he dismissed Mr Branson. Instead, Trott acted on pre-existing concerns about Mr Branson's attitude and performance, together with Conway's account of Mr Branson's aggressive behaviour on 18 January 2021. The tribunal therefore held that the dismissal was not automatically unfair under s100.

The detriment claim also failed. The tribunal accepted that Conway's approach to Mr Branson on the shop floor, in front of colleagues, was capable of amounting to a detriment. However, it found that Conway was not motivated by Mr Branson's protected health and safety disclosures when he spoke to him. As a result, the s44 claim was dismissed and no remedy was awarded.