Employee sacked after blowing whistle on ‘sheesha cave’ wins £30k plus costs

An employee who claimed she was intimidated by colleagues after she blew the whistle on the presence of cigarette ash and hookah pipe equipment in an office has been awarded more than £30,000 in compensation.

Miss Ahmad, who worked at the Human Relief Foundation charity, claimed she attended the office to collect her belongings during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020 when she found “ash in mugs”, glass bottles on tables, coal burners, sheesha and hookah equipment.

A report prepared by lawyers ahead of her tribunal case, which was shared with industry publication Third Sector, said she found the office had a strong smell of smoke. She also discovered a sign reading “HRF Sheesha Cave”.

She reported her findings in a whistleblowing letter to the charity’s management in September 2020 and was told an investigation would take place.

Ahmad also claimed she was reassured that her colleagues would not find out that she had named them in the letter.

After this, she claimed she suffered a “series of detriments” and was put in an uncomfortable situation when she had to walk past colleagues to collect her belongings. She claimed they intimidated her and made her fear for her safety, the report said.

She was awarded £30,000 for unfair dismissal and injury to feelings resulting from detriments following a protected disclosure, plus a further £1,607 for breach of contract in relation to the charity paying her 80% of her salary during a period that was recorded as furlough.

Complaints relating to alleged disability discrimination, religious discrimination, harassment and a failure to make reasonable adjustments were dismissed by the Manchester tribunal.

In June 2024, following a subsequent hearing to determine whether the claimant’s legal costs should be paid by the organisation, the employment tribunal awarded a further £9,777 to Ahmed.

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This article was originally published on 18 March 2024 and updated on 6 June 2024 to reflect the costs judgment.

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