Mr D Rittoo v Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and 3 others — 2022

Mr D Rittoo, a consultant cardiologist, had been dismissed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on 7 May 2019 and his appeal was rejected on 25 August 2020. In this second claim he also named Mr Andrew Gibson, Dr Nicola Stevenson and Ms Jacqui Grice. The hearing before Employment Judge KM Ross was a strike-out and deposit application.

Applying rule 37 of the Employment Tribunals (Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 and the principle of immunity from suit, the tribunal struck out most of the victimisation allegations. Allegations 1, 2, 3 and 8-29 were held to have no reasonable prospect of success because they concerned matters said or done in the course of Tribunal proceedings. Allegations 4, 5, 6 and 7 were left in the case, but the tribunal said they were subject to a deposit order if pursued.

The same facts were relied on as an alternative whistleblowing detriment claim. The tribunal struck out allegations 8-29 on the same judicial-immunity basis, but allowed allegations 5, 6 and 7 to survive subject to a deposit order. The tribunal also considered duplication with the earlier proceedings and the Henderson v Henderson point, but did not strike out the surviving allegations on that basis because the claimant was a litigant in person.

In the direct discrimination section, allegation 1 was struck out and allegation 2 was struck out only insofar as it concerned Mr Gibson. The remaining direct discrimination allegations were not struck out, but were made subject to a deposit order. The tribunal referred to the usual caution against striking out discrimination claims except in the clearest cases, including Anyanwu, Ukegheson and Ahir, and noted comparator issues in the surviving allegations.