The tribunal has permitted a solicitor to continue his claim of unfair dismissal due to alleged whistleblowing on biased work practices.
- Mr Broomhead, a former employee of Irwell Law, claims wrongful dismissal for exposing unfair work allocation at the firm.
- Employment Judge Cuthbert rejected a strike-out application, recognising potential public interest in the case.
- The tribunal dismissed a complaint of disability discrimination related to diabetes but allowed the unfair dismissal claim to proceed.
- Mr Broomhead’s additional claims against Irwell Law, including age discrimination, await a final hearing.
A tribunal has allowed a solicitor to proceed with his claim of unfair dismissal, following his allegations of whistleblowing about biased work allocation at a Manchester-based law firm, Irwell Law. Mr Broomhead, the solicitor in question, argued that after disclosing to the firm’s compliance officer the conduct of another solicitor and a trainee in unfairly allocating work, he was unjustly dismissed.
Mr Broomhead’s disclosure concerned arrangements he believed were made to assign higher-paying cases to certain individuals, relegating less desirable work to others, including himself. He alleged that his dismissal, initially with notice and subsequently for gross misconduct, was a consequence of his exposure of this bias.
Employment Judge Cuthbert was tasked with considering whether Mr Broomhead’s belief that his disclosure was in the public interest was reasonable. Although judgement did not resolve the case summarily, Judge Cuthbert acknowledged that there might be objectively viewable public interest elements regarding professional conduct within the legal sector.
Irwell Law’s counsel contended that Mr Broomhead’s case affected only a single individual within a small firm and therefore lacked broader public interest. However, the tribunal found insufficient grounds to strike out the claim based on the evidence of public interest.
In a related decision, the tribunal dismissed Mr Broomhead’s complaint of disability discrimination, determining he was unlikely to establish significant disadvantage due to his diabetes within the context of case allocation.
Aside from this claim, Mr Broomhead has other active claims against Irwell Law, including direct age discrimination, victimisation, and wrongful dismissal, which are scheduled for a final hearing. His previous application for interim relief was denied due to procedural inaccuracies and indications that his dismissal related to performance shortcomings.
The tribunal’s decision marks a critical step in assessing the public interest implications of internal disclosure within the legal profession.
