Mrs M Unsworth v Warrington & Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust HELD AT: Liverpool — 2024

This was a liability-only hearing about Mrs M Unsworth's claims arising from the expiry of her fixed-term contract with Warrington & Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The tribunal accepted that her 14 October 2022 Freedom to Speak Up report was based on concerns that her health and safety were being affected by stress, but it held that the report was not made in the public interest. The tribunal found the complaint was about her own employment situation and contract renewal, not about wider workplace wrongdoing affecting others, and it preferred the respondent's contemporaneous documents and witness evidence over parts of the claimant's account.

On automatic unfair dismissal under section 103A ERA 1996, the tribunal found the non-renewal of the claimant's fixed-term contract was not caused by the protected disclosure. It accepted that the claimant knew her contract was funding-dependent and that there was no guarantee of extension. The tribunal found that by autumn 2022 she was aware there was insufficient work for two deputy manager roles, that funding later justified reducing the service to one deputy post, and that she chose not to compete for the remaining role and instead took work outside the NHS. It also found that Ms Stennings treated the claimant and Megan Roberts consistently when both contracts came to an end.

The two whistleblowing detriment claims were dismissed on time-limit grounds and, alternatively, on the merits. The tribunal rejected the allegation that Ms Stennings did not take the claimant's bullying concerns seriously at the 14 November 2022 meeting, finding that the concerns were listened to, line management was changed, and mediation and redeployment were offered. It also rejected the allegation that the grievance outcome was deliberately delayed to make the claimant give up after her fixed-term contract ended, accepting the respondent's explanation that the investigation took time because of workload, absences, winter pressures, witness checking, and the size of the complaint and evidence bundle. No monetary award was made.