Conduct was separate from whistleblowing disclosure
An employee who was dismissed due to the manner in which she raised a whistleblowing concern had not been automatically unfairly dismissed on whistleblowing grounds. The employment tribunal had been entitled to find that her conduct when blowing the whistle (the employer’s reason for dismissal) was separate from the whistleblowing disclosure itself.
Whistleblowing disclosure
Ms Kong worked as Head of Financial Audit for Gulf International Bank. She made a protected disclosure to the Head of Legal, Ms Harding, saying that the template agreement being used for one of the Bank’s financial products was unsuitable. Ms Harding disagreed with her view and Ms Kong went on to question Ms Harding’s legal awareness of the issue. Ms Harding was upset by this and complained to the Head of HR and the CEO that Ms Kong had criticised her professional integrity.
Employer’s reason for dismissal
The Head of HR and CEO considered that Ms Kong should be dismissed and Ms Kong’s boss agreed. The CEO informed Ms Kong of her dismissal, saying that her behaviour, manner and approach with colleagues had resulted in them not wanting to work with her, but that her dismissal was not connected to the whistleblowing disclosure. The dismissal letter specifically referred to Ms Kong having questioned Ms Harding's integrity and said that her approach was “entirely unacceptable and fell well short of the standard of professional behaviour" expected.
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