Why the case matters
A person who is protected from dismissal or detriment, either because they are a whistleblower, or because they have done a protected act under discrimination legislation, may take the position that anything done to them thereafter is a retaliation. However, it is important to remember that the reason why an employee is treated in a certain way may not be entirely attributable to their disclosure or protected act. The case reported below makes clear that employees do not have the equivalent of diplomatic immunity once they have made a qualifying disclosure or done a protected act. They are not exempt from professional standards of behaviour and the manner in which they approach issues may be separable from the subject matter of their complaint.
Facts
Ms Kong was employed by Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd ("Gulf Bank") as Head of Financial Audit. In October 2018, she made several protected disclosures to the Head of Legal, Ms Harding, relating to an investment product that Gulf Bank was offering. Ms Kong raised concerns that a legal document being used was not suitable.
Ms Harding was upset by the disclosure and felt that Ms Kong was questioning her integrity. This led to a disagreement between the two, after which Ms Harding complained to senior leaders that she would be unable to work with Ms Kong in the future.
Following Ms Harding's complaint, the Head of HR, CEO and Group Chief Auditor of Gulf Bank decided to dismiss Ms Kong. The reason provided...
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