Claimant v Robert Browning Primary School — 2021

This was Peter Blak's third tribunal claim, heard as an application for interim relief before Employment Judge Cheetham QC on 6 December 2021. It concerned his dismissal on notice on 10 November 2021 from Robert Browning Primary School, where he had worked as School Business Manager since 23 June 2012. He said his earlier ET1s contained protected disclosures and that he was dismissed for making those disclosures.

The tribunal applied the statutory interim relief provisions in ss.128 and 129 ERA 1996 and the agreed approach to 'likely', including Hancock v Ter-Berg and the Taplin 'pretty good chance' test. It accepted that it was likely Mr Blak had made protected disclosures and that he had been dismissed, but the issue was whether it was likely that the reason for dismissal was those disclosures.

Having read the dismissal letter carefully, the tribunal held that it did not show dismissal because of the protected disclosures. It found that the panel was instead addressing Mr Blak's own view that the school had been mismanaged by the Head Teacher, and that the panel considered the working relationship to have irretrievably broken down because of those opposing views. The tribunal rejected the submissions that references to fraud and mismanagement, the alleged 'last straw' letter, or a failure to consider alternatives and mediation showed the dismissal was because of protected disclosures.

The tribunal concluded that, although the protected disclosures may have been the context, the evidence did not make it likely that they were the cause of the dismissal. The application for interim relief was therefore dismissed. No remedy was awarded in the judgment.