Employment Snapshot May 2026
Thursday 21st May 2026
Welcome to Gordons Employment Team’s latest update
This month we cover:
- Employer’s failure to obtain updated occupational health report renders dismissal unfair.
- Protected conversations: when does the protection fall away?
- Dismissal of a whistleblower found to be automatically unfair.
Employer’s failure to obtain updated occupational health report renders dismissal unfair
In a recent case, Kayongo v London Underground Ltd, the Employment Tribunal (ET) found that an employer acted unfairly by dismissing a long-term absent employee without first obtaining an up-to-date occupational health (OH) assessment.
Protected conversations: when does the protection fall away?
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) recently provided a useful reminder of the limits of the protection given to “protected conversations” under section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) in Tarbuc v Martello Piling Ltd.
Dismissal of a whistleblower found to be automatically unfair
Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), protection is given to workers who make ‘protected disclosures’, commonly known as “whistleblowing”. To be a protected disclosure, the disclosure must contain information the worker reasonably believes is in the public interest and tends to show a certain wrongdoing, such as a criminal offence, a breach of a legal obligation or someone’s health and safety is at risk. A dismissal is automatically unfair if the reason or principal reason for the dismissal is because the employee made a protected disclosure.
In the case of The Laurels Family Assessment v Kay, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) reinforced the Employment Tribunal’s (ET) decision that an employee’s dismissal was automatically unfair as they had been summarily dismissed the same day they had raised safeguarding concerns in relation to the conduct of another colleague.
If you require any further information on the above topics, please do not hesitate to get in contact with a member of the Employment Team.
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