The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has delivered its first decision on the meaning of the words “in the public interest” when considering a whistleblowing case being pursued after the legislation was amended in 2013.
It is well established in law that contracts contain both implied and express terms. In Williams v Leeds United Football Club, the High Court held that it was a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence to forward a pornographic e-mail to a junior colleague even though the breach occurred more than five years before the employee was dismissed.
The Court of Appeal said in 2013 that awards should be uplifted by 10 per cent in certain, defined circumstances. In Chawla v Hewlett Packard Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that these circumstances did not include awards for injury to feelings in discrimination cases brought in tribunals.