FORMER EMPLOYEE

Woodward v Abbey National plc (No 1): [2006] EWCA Civ 822

CA: Ward, Maurice Kay and Wilson LJJ: 22 June 2006

The claimant made a complaint under section 48(1A) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 that, after her employment had ended, she had suffered a detriment contrary to section 47B(1) on the ground that she had made a protected disclosure during her employment with the respondent. At a preliminary hearing an employment tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to hear the claim, since the alleged detriment had occurred after the termination of her employment. An appeal by the claimant was dismissed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

The claimant appealed.

The Court of Appeal held:
The context and purpose of the amendment of the Employment Rights Act 1996 by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 was the protection of workers who made certain disclosures of information in the public interest and the provision of an action if they suffered detriment as a result, and it would be palpably absurd and capricious for Parliament to have afforded protection only in respect of acts done by the employer in retaliation while the contract of employment subsisted and not to protect those whose employment had terminated. While Part V of the 1996 Act, which included section 47B, dealt with "Protection from suffering detriment in employment", "in employment" could also be understood to mean "in the employment relationship" and that could survive the termination of the contract of employment itself. "Worker" in the general definition in section 230(3) meant not only an individual who currently worked under a contract of employment but one who formerly worked under such a contract and for the purposes of section 47B could be construed as including a former employee. Accordingly, the protection provided by section 47B extended, where appropriate, to former employees, and the employment tribunal had erred in holding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the claimant's complaint on the basis that the alleged detriment was suffered after her employment contract had terminated.

The appeal was allowed.

Appearances: Jeffrey Bacon and Simon Forshaw (Russell-Cooke) for the claimant; John Cavanagh QC and Richard Powell (DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Birmingham) for the employer.