Ms L-M Madden v Real Life Options — 2026

Ms Madden applied for interim relief in connection with her claim of automatic unfair dismissal under s103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Tribunal held that she had not shown the required “pretty good chance of success”. It was not persuaded that her statement to Real Life Options Ltd that Reta was not an illegal drug for personal use showed or tended to show any matter within s43B(1), or that she was likely to establish a reasonable belief that the disclosure was made in the public interest.

The Tribunal also found that, even if Ms Madden were likely to establish a protected disclosure, she was not likely to show that it was the sole or principal reason for dismissal. The respondent’s disciplinary process had begun before the alleged disclosure, the stated reasons for dismissal concerned conduct identified before that disclosure, and Ms Madden’s submissions about procedure, reasoning and fairness did not address the reason-for-dismissal issue under s103A. The interim relief application was therefore refused; the underlying automatic unfair dismissal claim was not finally determined, and no monetary remedy was awarded.