Mrs S Garnier v The Governing Body of Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School — 2021

Mrs Garnier was employed by the respondent from 1 September 2019 as an assistant headteacher on a fixed-term contract, later extended to 31 December 2020. She applied for interim relief under sections 128 and 129 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, saying her dismissal was because she had made public interest disclosures, with particular focus at the hearing on disclosures she said were made on 1 July 2020.

The tribunal applied the section 129(1) test and referred to Ministry of Justice v Sarfraz and Taplin v CC Shippam Ltd on the meaning of 'likely' and the 'pretty good chance' threshold. It recorded that the case involved significant disputes of fact and that the claimant's evidence differed materially from the respondent's witness evidence, so those matters would need to be tested at a full hearing.

The tribunal accepted that it was likely the claimant had made a public interest disclosure, and possibly several. It was not satisfied, however, that it was likely the final tribunal would find that the principal reason for dismissal was that she had made a protected disclosure. The respondent's case was that the claimant was not retained because it did not want the assistant headteacher role filled permanently on a part-time basis. The application for interim relief was refused, and the tribunal said that did not mean the claimant could not succeed at the final hearing.