Dr A Malik v CAS Behavioural Health Ltd and Signet Healthcare Ltd: 2403141/2018
| Judgment Date | 01 February 2021 |
| Citation | 2403141/2018 |
| Published date | 11 February 2021 |
| Court | Employment Tribunal |
| Subject Matter | Unfair Dismissal |
RESERVED JUDGMENT
Case No. 2403141/2018
1
EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
Claimant:
Dr Ambreen Malik
Respondents:
1. CAS Behavioural Health Limited
2. Signet Healthcare Limited
Heard at:
Manchester
On: 23,24,25,29,30 April 2019;
1,2,3 May 2019
12,13 September 2019
28,29 November 2019
2,3,4,5,9,10 December 2019
10,11,12,13 February 2020
20,21 April 2020
Before:
Employment Judge Warren
Mr B McCaughey
Mr A G Barker
REPRESENTATION:
Claimant: Ms Murphy, Counsel
Respondents: Mr D Barnett, Counsel
JUDGMENT
The judgment of the Tribunal is that:
1. Subject to paragraph 2 below the claims of detriment following public interest
disclosures are all out of time, and the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear
them. They do not form part of a series of similar acts. It was reasonably
practicable for the claims to be brought in time.
2. The claim of detriment for making public interest disclosures in relation to Dr
Burton’s email to the GMC link, on the dismissal of the claimant, is both in
time and well founded. The claimant suffered a detriment because she had
made a series of public interest disclosures.
RESERVED JUDGMENT
Case No. 2403141/2018
2
3. The claimant was not automatically unfairly dismissed for making public
interest disclosures and her claim under section 103A) Employment Rights
Act 1996 fails.
4. The claim of unfair dismissal in contravention of section 94 Employment
Rights Act is well founded and succeeds.
5. The claimant was dismissed without notice in breach of her contract.
REASONS
Background and Case Summary
1. The respondent is a national private healthcare provider. It operated around
27 sites nationally. At all relevant times Dr Romero was Managing Director or
subsequently the Chief Executive Officer and the most senior employee. There was
a leadership team comprising Dr Burton, consultant psychiatrist, Mr N Ruffley nurse
and director and Mrs J Gibson, Human Resources Director all of whom reported to
Dr Romero.
2. The claimant was employed from 2011 becoming, in 2013, a Consultant
Psychiatrist for the respondent. She was the only Consultant Psychiatrist at
Fountains Hospital, with sole responsibility for 37 patients. The hospital cared for
vulnerable young adult males with psychiatric conditions linked to a history of
addiction. Some of them were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
3. The claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct on 12 October 2017. She
brings claims of unfair dismissal, automatically unfair dismissal for making public
interest disclosures, whistle-blowing detriments, and breach of contract/wrongful
dismissal.
4. This was a lengthy and complex case, and the Judgment has been
substantially delayed, in part because of the impact of COVID-19, and in part
because of the indisposition of Employment Judge Warren for which she apologises
to everyone concerned.
The Evidence
5. The Tribunal was supplied with witness statements from all of the following:
Dr Malik; Ayesha Rahim and Shakir Adam Lincoln on behalf of the claimant. Dr
Rahim is a Consultant Psychiatrist working for the Lancashire Care NHS Trust as
Deputy Medical Director. Mr Lincoln was the brother of M, the patient whose
treatment led to the claimant's dismissal.
6. On behalf of the respondent evidence was received from:
• Serena Birtwhistle, at the material time the Interim Hospital Manager and
a qualified Registered Mental Health Nurse.
• Lynne Ngaaseke, Hospital Manager at the material time.
RESERVED JUDGMENT
Case No. 2403141/2018
3
• Andrew Parsons, solicitor representing the interests of the respondent at
the relevant time.
• Kristy Watters, Senior HR Business Partner in the respondent’s
business.
• McAshraful Bari, Lead Clinician.
• Leslie Burton, then Group Clinical Director (now retired).
• Nick Ruffley, Psychiatric Nurse and Regional Operations Director.
• Robert Verity, Consultant Psychiatrist and interim then Group Clinical
Director.
• Venkataramana Boyapati, Assistant medical Director and Lead for
Learning Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorders and Consultant
Psychiatrist.
• Lyn Elliott, Head of HR Operations.
• Tony Romero, Chief Executive Officer of the respondent.
• Jenny Gibson, HR Director.
7. All of the above named witnesses had supplied witness statements which
were taken as read, and where appropriate, they were cross examined.
8. There was a substantial bundle of documents consisting of several thousand
pages – it was not possible to count the exact number as they were indexed in a
bizarre and novel format. With the assistance of respondent’s counsel, we were
eventually able both to move between the 12 volumes of ring-binders which this case
necessitated. Page references in this Judgment relate to that bundle – all require a
letter of the alphabet as well as a number to trace them.
9. The case was decided on the evidential test, the balance of probabilities. We
found some of the witnesses totally credible and others less so, and there are
comments relating to those whose evidence we found less credible within the
Judgment and our conclusions.
List of Issues
10. The List of Issues to be determined by the Tribunal was as follows:
Protected Disclosures
1. The claimant's case is that she made the following protected disclosures.
The respondent does not accept that all disclosures were made to the
claimant's employer:
2. Disclosure 1
To continue reading
Request your trial