Miss E Mwape v University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (“the third respondent” or “R3”) — 2018

This was a preliminary hearing on the respondent's application to strike out claims or, alternatively, for deposit orders, and on whether the claimant should be permitted to amend her claim to include constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal found that the claimant's grievances and related interviews could, on their face, constitute public interest disclosures, and that her complaints about isolation, redeployment, lack of support and resignation raised factual issues that required determination at a final hearing.

The tribunal held that the whistleblowing detriment claim was not out of time because the redeployment issue was capable of being a continuing act up to the claimant's resignation. It found that the claim had more than little reasonable prospect of success and therefore refused both strike out and a deposit order.

The tribunal allowed the constructive unfair dismissal amendment despite the claim being brought out of time, applying the amendment authorities and concluding that the proposed claim was closely linked to the existing factual scenario and did not cause significant additional prejudice to the respondent. The age and race discrimination claims were struck out because the claimant had pleaded and particularised no facts beyond asserting protected characteristics and belief, and had not raised age or race discrimination in the internal grievance material.