Jurisdiction

Case 6: The facts

After attending a fatality with a sergeant and another constable, police constable Thomas Lake alleged that the sergeant had retained a piece of a skull as a “trophy”. He did not report this straight away, but kept CCTV evidence of a conversation with the other constable about the matter and revealed it later in a bullying complaint about the sergeant.

The Police Disciplinary Board dismissed Lake for failing to report the matter for immediate investigation, keeping the CCTV tape and making a false allegation against the sergeant. He claimed that he had been dismissed as a result of making a protected disclosure. The police argued that, as the hearing had been carried out by a Board with a quasi-judicial function, Lake could not bring a claim in an employment tribunal.

The ruling

The Court of Appeal found that the Board chair had immunity from being called at a tribunal hearing, but said this did not override Lake’s statutory right to claim unfair dismissal under section 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

If Lake could show that the reason for his dismissal was that he had made the disclosure about the improper treatment of body parts, the court said, his claim might succeed.

Lake v British Transport Police [2007] EWCA Civ 424