Member E McCall Tribunal Member F Parr Mr P Mullery v Avanti Environmental Group Limited — 2019

Mr Mullery worked for Avanti Environmental Group Limited as Commercial Manager for Highland Waste Services from 18 June 2012. The tribunal accepted three protected disclosures: in July 2017 he told Mike Kerins that a trailer loaded with scrap had not been weighed in; in March 2018 he reported to NB that consultant Allan Mackay had removed 4 tipping skips and 4 IBC trollies; and on 26 September 2018 he told MQ that an employee of a client had asked for payment into a personal account and that AM may have been aware of the arrangement. It rejected the suggested disclosures to AM in late summer 2017 and April 2018 because AM was not the employer for section 43C purposes.

On the detriment claim, the tribunal found no act or deliberate failure to act on the ground that Mr Mullery had made protected disclosures. It accepted that some events occurred, including the July 2017 argument with AM, but found AM was unaware that the call to Mike Kerins had been made and later apologised. It also found that the March 2018 disclosure led to written instruction to Allan Mackay not to remove materials without permission, and that the September 2018 disclosure led to a fact-finding investigation by MQ. Other alleged detriments were not proved, were not detriments, or were not linked to the protected disclosures.

Mr Mullery resigned on 2 October 2018 after being told that NB would investigate the concerns he had raised with MQ. The tribunal held that appointing NB, who was not implicated and was the divisional director responsible for HWS, was not a repudiatory breach and was not capable of being a final straw when viewed cumulatively. Applying the authorities it cited, the tribunal concluded there was no constructive unfair dismissal and no automatic unfair dismissal under s.103A. His later grievance was investigated and not upheld, and no remedy was awarded because all claims were dismissed.