Mr S Abdul v North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust — 2021

The claimant, a paramedic, resigned in November 2019 after disputes arising from the 8 January 2019 incident involving Patient A. The tribunal accepted that he made protected disclosures on 11 January 2019, 18 June 2019, and 11 July 2019, and it extended time just and equitably for allegations before 26 March 2019.

The whistleblowing detriment claim failed. The tribunal found no detriment in the Friday occupational health appointment, the roster and pairing issues, the mess-room allegation, the handling of confidentiality, the delay in investigations, or the HCPC referral. It held that the relevant decisions were explained by operational, procedural, or disciplinary reasons, and that the claimant could not reasonably expect the Patient A concerns to remain anonymous once they were raised through the respondent's processes.

The race claims failed. On the direct race allegations, the tribunal found no less favourable treatment in relation to the 14 April 2019 roster, the disciplinary investigation concerning the 19 February 2019 shift, or the HCPC referral. On the harassment allegation, it held that making the claimant work solo and sit at the station on 14 April 2019 was not unwanted conduct related to race. The tribunal accepted that the comparator treatment was the same or that the decisions were taken for operational reasons.

The religion and belief claims also failed. The tribunal found that the flexible working request process was used to formalise an accommodation for Friday prayers, not to discriminate against the claimant, and that he was not forced to work the whole of Friday 14 June 2019. It also found that the delay in handling his leave, grievance, and Patient A concerns had other explanations. The indirect discrimination claims failed because there was no PCP requiring Friday occupational health appointments, and the annual leave process was a general booking system rather than a practice that put Muslims at a particular disadvantage.

The disability and working time claims failed. The tribunal accepted that the claimant had a disability for Equality Act purposes, but found no PCP requiring employees to work without breaks and no failure to make reasonable adjustments. On 19 February 2019 it found that he could have taken an earlier rest break, that the continuity-of-service exception applied because he was engaged in emergency patient care, and that compensatory rest was available under the respondent's policy.

The constructive unfair dismissal claim failed. Applying the authorities on repudiatory breach and last straw conduct, the tribunal held that the respondent's conduct, including the disciplinary process and the later rota entry, did not amount to a repudiatory breach. It found that the claimant resigned to avoid the disciplinary hearing, and therefore did not need to reach the automatic unfair dismissal issues linked to protected disclosure or statutory rights. No remedy was awarded because all claims failed.