Mrs D Davidsen v IBM United Kingdom Limited and 4 others — 2020

The tribunal found that four of the claimant's five alleged disclosures were protected disclosures and protected acts. The disclosures concerned treatment of The Weather Company employees, including alleged sex discrimination, bullying and harassment, and possible breaches of legal obligations. The fourth disclosure was not a protected disclosure because it did not contain sufficient information, and was not a protected act.

The tribunal rejected the respondents' account that the claimant had materially underperformed before the disclosures. It found that some managers took an adverse view of the disclosures and that this materially influenced steps taken against the claimant, including removal from the Bluewolf project, critical mid-year feedback, being told there was no ongoing role, being described as "militant", being placed on an unachievable performance improvement plan, receiving a poor 2017 year-end review, and a failure to investigate the original TWC concerns properly.

The tribunal dismissed a number of alleged detriments, including claims about exclusion from meetings, attendance at operational calls, the give-back event, the design thinking workshop, delays or outcomes in later grievance and appeal processes, and some grievance investigation complaints. It did uphold one whistleblowing detriment relating to the first grievance investigation, finding that the respondent had not shown that the protected disclosures had no material effect on the investigator's approach.

For remedy, the tribunal awarded declarations, compensation for loss of earnings by formula from 6 February 2018 to six weeks after the judgment was sent, £20,000 for injury to feelings, and a 10% uplift under s.207A TULR(C)A 1992. It also recommended removal of the PIP from the claimant's records and an entry in the 2017 end-of-year review referring readers to the judgment.