Kuzel v Roche Products Ltd [2007] All ER (D) 32 (Mar) (EAT)
If an employee claims he was unfairly dismissed for whistle-blowing, the proper approach is to consider:
(i) whether the employee has shown that there was a real issue about whether the reason advanced by the employer was not the true reason for the dismissal by advancing a case under s 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996;
(ii) if so, have the employers proved their reason for dismissal;
(iii) if not, have the employers disproved the s 103A reason advanced by the employee;
(iv) if not, the dismissal was for the s 103A reason. The employers’ failure to prove the reason relied on does not automatically result in a finding of unfair dismissal under section 103A. However, rejection of the employers’ reason, coupled with the claimant having raised a prima facie case, entitles the tribunal to infer that the s 103A reason was the true one.
However, it remains open to the employers to satisfy the tribunal that the making of protected disclosures was not the reason for dismissal even if the real reason
