Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

1 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS SITTING AT: SOUTHAMPTON BEFORE: EMPLOYMENT JUDGE EMERTON (sitting alone) BETWEEN: Mr M Iftikhar Claimant AND Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Respondent ON: 11 December 2018 APPEARANCES: For the claimant: Miss C Ngo-Pondi (Trade Union National Officer) For the respondent: Mr S Gorton QC (Counsel) JUDGMENT having been sent to the parties on 19 December 2018 and written reasons having been requested in accordance with Rule 62(3) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, the following reasons are provided: REASONS Summary of the case 1. This was an application for interim relief in a case involving a consultant surgeon who was dismissed by his employing NHS Trust, the reason given being “some other substantial reason”, namely a breakdown of working relationships. It would appear to be common ground that the claimant had indeed fallen out with his colleagues. The application is based upon automatically unfair dismissal for making a protected disclosure under section 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The respondent robustly resists the claim, disputes that there were protected disclosures or that there was automatically unfair dismissal, and argues that there is no basis for interim relief. 2. The tribunal found that it not was not likely that the automatically unfair dismissal claim would succeed, and in consequence refused the interim relief application under section 129 of the Act. 2 Background to the hearing 3. By a claim form presented on 20 November 2018, the claimant brought claims of detriment for making a protected disclosure, “ordinary” unfair dismissal, and (relevant to the application for ...