Employment Commentary - 15/07/10
WHISTLE BLOWING AND PROTECTED EARNINGS
A case against Ealing Hospital has this month highlighted the ability of the Tribunal to order that a dismissed employee can be entitled to their full wages as a form of interim relief when the employee has been dismissed as a result of a whistle blowing claim.
Mrs Chowdhury had raised allegations that Consultant Radiologists were defrauding the NHS of fees while working for private patients. She was suspended following allegations of fraud and then dismissed. Mrs Chowdhury believed that she was dismissed because she blew the whistle on Senior Radiologists.
The ruling by the Tribunal that she is to receive her full wages until the case is concluded was a blow to the employer and a reminder to other employers that dismissals where there is a potential for a whistle blowing claim can prove expensive if the employee can show that they have got a "pretty good chance" of succeeding at trial. |
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