Mrs Alison Poland v Buckinghamshire Council — 2026

Mrs Alison Poland was employed by Buckinghamshire Council as a Local Area Technician from 27 September 2021. Her employment was terminated on 2 February 2026 with an effective termination date of 3 April 2026. By a claim form presented on 9 April 2026 she brought a claim of automatically unfair dismissal for making protected disclosures, and this judgment decided her application for interim relief.

The tribunal considered alleged protected disclosures about statutory highways inspections, training, public safety, personal safety, and legal or regulatory compliance. It found that the claimant had a pretty good chance of establishing that disclosures made on or after 30 September 2025 were protected disclosures, because the cited extracts referred to public safety and potentially compliance with a legal obligation, subject to the claimant proving public interest at the full hearing.

The tribunal did not find that the claimant had a pretty good chance of establishing that the redundancy situation was a sham. It relied on evidence that the highways and technical services restructure had begun before the alleged protected disclosures, including a Phase 2 consultation document dated 4 September 2025, trade union notification on 28 August 2025, formal staff consultation from 4 September to 18 October 2025, and the deletion of 16 Local Area Technician roles including the claimant's role.

Applying the interim relief threshold, the tribunal concluded that the claimant did not have a pretty good chance of showing that her dismissal was attributed to any or all of her protected disclosures. It therefore dismissed the application for interim relief. No monetary remedy was awarded in this judgment.