Welcome to our monthly newsletter, with a summary of the latest news and developments in UK employment law.
In this issue:
Case law updates
Dismissal: An interesting Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision concluded that it was not unfair to dismiss a claimant despite the issues having already been addressed under concluded disciplinary proceedings resulting in a final written warning. While rare to reopen concluded matters, there is no general rule against ‘double jeopardy’ and this unusual case is an example of where it was not unfair to revisit the issues. The claimant held a senior position in an NHS hospital trust and had responsibility for improving racial equality, as well as being the chair of her employer’s BME network. She faced disciplinary proceedings after numerous allegations of (amongst other things) bullying, harassment and discrimination, and ultimately received a final written warning. However, in the meantime, a report by the Care Quality Commission concluded that bullying, harassment and discrimination were “rife” in the organisation, and the trust was placed into special measures with the management taken over by another trust’s executive team. The new chief executive questioned the previous disciplinary findings and instigated the process which led to the claimant’s dismissal on ground that she was not objectively credible or accountable to lead on race issues. Interestingly, as well as finding the dismissal fair, the EAT also concluded that it was...
The U.S. Justice Department has encouraged prosecutors to dismiss more lawsuits against companies brought by whistleblowers, and the former top deputy for the agency’s civil division expects the tr...