Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Case law

Case of the week: Cavendish Munro Professional Risks Management Limited v Geduld

by Personnel Today 24 Nov 2009
by Personnel Today 24 Nov 2009

Cavendish Munro Professional Risks Management Limited v Geduld

Facts

Mr M Geduld became a director and employee of Cavendish Munro Professional Risks Management Limited (Cavendish) in March 2007. There were three directors, each with a shareholding of 26.6%. There were tensions between Geduld and the other directors, which came to a head in late 2007, at which time he signed a shareholders agreement. In January 2008 there were discussions about a buyout of his shareholding with a view to removing him as a director. Geduld was given the option of resigning as director but remaining as an employee, or resigning as a director and having a basic contract of employment, or agreeing an exit. Shortly afterwards, he was removed as a director.

Negotiations continued without agreement and Geduld consulted a solicitor. The solicitor wrote to the two remaining directors on his behalf on 4 February 2008. The letter stated that the solicitor had given legal advice concerning the validity of the shareholder agreement and unfair prejudice to Geduld as a shareholder. On 5 February 2008, Geduld was dismissed with immediate effect. Geduld, who had less than 12 months’ service, brought a claim that he had been dismissed because he made a protected disclosure, relying on the letter from his solicitor.

Decision

The tribunal held that although the letter from Geduld’s solicitor was ‘without prejudice’, it was admissible in evidence. The tribunal found that Geduld was dismissed because of the solicitor’s letter. The tribunal held that the solicitor’s letter did constitute a qualifying disclosure as it referred to legal obligations with which it was asserted that the other directors had not complied. The tribunal went on to find that Geduld had been unfairly dismissed. At a Remedies Hearing, he was awarded compensation of £36,300.

Cavendish then appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT held that the solicitor’s letter did not amount to a qualifying disclosure. The Employment Rights Act 1996 recognises a distinction between an allegation and information. To fall within the definition of a protected disclosure there must be disclosure of information. The letter did not disclose information; it was a statement of position communicated in the course of negotiations. Further, the letter did not amount to a disclosure as it did not disclose any facts. Accordingly, Geduld did not have the requisite service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. The EAT also set aside the compensation award.

Implications

This case does not mean that a solicitor’s letter before action is incapable of containing a protected disclosure, but it does significantly limit the circumstances in which it will do so. To make a protected disclosure, the worker must actually convey facts, even if those facts are already known to the recipient. This case is likely to act as a limitation on the significant widening of whistleblowing law brought about by the decision in Parkins v Sodexho, in which the EAT held that the definition of a qualifying disclosure (which includes “breach of any legal obligation”) was broad enough to cover breach of the whistleblower’s own contract of employment. This had led to employees who considered themselves at risk of dismissal, particularly those with less than a year’s service, making allegations of breach of their employment rights with a view to relying on a protected disclosure. The decision in Geduld, however, throws into doubt the common assumption that a complaint about such a breach will amount to a “disclosure of information”.

Allan Chalmers, employment partner, DLA Piper

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
GCHQ uses Xbox Live game to tempt recruits
next post
Engineering construction industry union members accept new national employment agreement

You may also like

Supreme Court: Holiday pay for part-year staff should...

20 Jul 2022

Maya Forstater wins belief discrimination case over gender-critical...

6 Jul 2022

Christian doctor loses transgender pronoun case, but beliefs...

29 Jun 2022

Long Covid: what tribunal’s disability ruling means for...

23 Jun 2022

Frewer v Google: How it’s getting harder to...

30 May 2022

School discriminated against Christian caretaker who tweeted against...

3 May 2022

Philosophical belief: barrister’s tribunal claim against Stonewall begins

26 Apr 2022

EAT hears David Mackereth’s appeal against trans pronouns...

29 Mar 2022

Trade union detriment: action short of dismissal is...

25 Mar 2022

Rail inspector with ‘shy bladder syndrome’ wins £90,000...

16 Mar 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+