Whistleblowing detriment claim dismissed as nearly a year out of time

A late claim that could not be saved

This case shows how strictly employment tribunals apply time limits for whistleblowing detriment claims. The former employee, who had worked at the University of the West of England on a series of fixed-term contracts, was dismissed in July 2019. He brought several claims, but his whistleblowing detriment claim was not presented until October 2020 — nearly a year after the three-month time limit had expired.

The tribunal found that it was reasonably practicable for him to have brought that claim in time. He had already presented other claims earlier, and there was no good reason for the delay. As a result, the whistleblowing detriment claim was struck out at a preliminary hearing in May 2022.

A comprehensive loss at the final hearing

The remaining claims — including unfair dismissal, automatically unfair dismissal for whistleblowing, and discrimination — went to a nine-day final hearing in May 2023. The tribunal dismissed all of them. The claimant, who represented himself, was unable to persuade the tribunal that his dismissal was unfair or that he had suffered discrimination or harassment.

What this means for similar claims

For anyone considering a whistleblowing claim, the key lesson is to act quickly. The three-month time limit starts from the date of the act you are complaining about, not from when you decide to bring a claim. If you are already involved in other proceedings, do not assume that gives you extra time. The tribunal will expect you to bring each claim within its own time limit unless there is a very good reason why you could not.

The case also illustrates the difficulty of running multiple claims without legal representation. The tribunal had to deal with a series of preliminary hearings, strike-outs, and amendments over several years, which ultimately did not help the claimant's case.