Mr T Mitchell v Taverham High School — 2022

This was an interim relief hearing before Employment Judge K Welch sitting alone by CVP. The claimant had been dismissed on 10 May 2022. At the start of the hearing he no longer pursued interim relief based on union membership or activities, or on paragraph 161(2) of Schedule A1 to TULCRA, and those applications were dismissed upon withdrawal. The remaining application was under s.103A ERA for automatic unfair dismissal for making a protected disclosure.

The tribunal applied ss.128 and 129 ERA and the interim relief authorities cited in the judgment, including Taplin v C Shippam Ltd, Ministry of Justice v Sarfraz, Wollenberg Global Gaming Ventures (Leeds) Ltd, and London City Airport v Chacko. It also considered s.43B ERA and Chesterton Global Limited & Another v Nurmohamed on the public interest requirement. On the written material, the tribunal considered it likely that at least one of the claimant's emails or grievance contained information tending to show that the health and safety of pupils and teachers might be adversely affected if Covid-19 procedures were not properly managed and ventilation was not in place, and that the claimant held a genuine and reasonable belief that the disclosures were in the public interest.

The tribunal was not satisfied that the claimant had a pretty good chance of proving that any protected disclosure was the reason or principal reason for dismissal. It noted the disciplinary and appeal material, including reports and documents referring to alleged misconduct and a breakdown in trust and confidence, and said there was not enough in the documents before it to show that the disclosures, if any, were the principal reason for dismissal. Applying the causation point discussed in Eigar Securities LLP v Korshunova, the tribunal refused interim relief.