Emmah Muchererah v Rushcliffe Independent Hospitals (Kegworth) Ltd

Facts

The claimant, a nurse, worked for Rushcliffe Independent Hospitals (Kegworth) Ltd first as a senior staff nurse and then as a bank nurse, before being employed as Clinical Lead at Mill Lodge Hospital, a hospital for patients with mental health needs, from 26 April 2020. At a meeting on 20 November 2020 she was told she had not passed her probation, and her employment terminated with effect on 7 December 2020. Acting in person, she brought employment tribunal claims of automatic unfair dismissal, contending that the reason or principal reason for her dismissal was that she had made two protected disclosures — the first said to have been made to Dr Singh, the Medical Director, in August 2020 about the consultant psychiatrist Dr Okoko practising in breach of GMC restrictions, the second an email in October 2020 to Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust about the alleged maltreatment of a patient — alternatively that she had asserted a statutory right relating to working time, or had raised health and safety concerns about working long hours and on-call duties. She also claimed unpaid wages for 223 excess hours and 200 on-call hours. Following a full merits hearing before Employment Judge M Butler at Leicester in January 2023, all those complaints were dismissed. She appealed, and at a rule 3(10) hearing three grounds were permitted to proceed.