Case studies: Redmans settles whistleblowing Employment Tribunal claim for five-figure sum

Summary

How Chris Hadrill successfully represented an employee on a no win no fee basis in an Employment Tribunal whistleblowing claim and helped a client settle their claim for a five-figure sum.

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees can make ‘whistleblowing’ claims if they are subjected to a detriment and/or dismissed because they have made protected disclosures to their employer (commonly known as ‘blowing the whistle’). Unlike unfair dismissal claims, employees do not need 2 years’ continuous employment to make a whistleblowing claim.

Situation

AB (whose identity has been anonymised for legal reasons) was employed by a charity. In 2014 he complained to his line managers that he did not believe that the charity had complied with data protection laws and that this failure had exposed him to harm from an alleged stalker. The charity investigated his complaint and he was suspended from work. AB was then subjected to an investigation over allegations that he had defrauded the charity and lengthened his suspension from work. Although the allegations of fraud against AB were subsequently dropped, AB was dismissed from his employment on allegations that he had been absent from work without leave. AB, however, believed that he had been dismissed because he had ‘blown the whistle’.

What we did

Redmans represented DS on a no win no fee basis in his claim (under a “Damage-Based Agreement”), with Chris Hadrill acting as the lead solicitor in the claim. Chris advised AB on all aspects of his claim and settled AB’s claim for a five-figure sum, the value of which cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

The result

Chris secured a five-figure sum in compensation for AB on a ‘no win no fee’ agreement, which meant that if AB had not win his claims then Redmans would not have been paid a fee.

Call 020 3397 3603 or contact us if you want to talk to Redmans about an Employment Tribunal claim.