Janet Lewis v EE Limited — 2023

The Respondent conceded that the Claimant made protected disclosures on 24 August 2019, 29 June 2020 and 8 February 2021 concerning allegations of indecent exposure, drug taking and sexual coercion. The Tribunal found that, before the grievance of 4 March 2021, the Claimant had only voiced general concerns or allegations about theft and fraud, rather than disclosing information about those matters. The whistleblowing detriment complaints were found to be out of time, with no relevant series of similar acts and no basis to extend time.

The Tribunal found that the Claimant agreed to reduce her hours in September 2018, taking account of the contractual terms, sickness absence context, the absence of a formal challenge for about two and a half years, and later conduct including not asking for more hours when opportunities arose. The claims for unauthorised deductions, breach of contract and holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations therefore failed.

On constructive dismissal, the Tribunal considered the Claimant's reliance on a cumulative course of events and the handling of her grievance. It found that the grievance investigation was conducted fully and fairly, that the conclusions were consistent with the evidence before the grievance investigator, and that the matters relied on did not amount individually or cumulatively to a repudiatory breach. It concluded that the Claimant was not constructively dismissed, and therefore the automatic unfair dismissal claim based on protected disclosure also failed.