Local News Stories For Todmorden

Steph Booth Wins Cool UK Employment Tribunal Case

Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Calder Valley, Steph Booth, today won her whistleblowing case against her former employer Cool UK in Burnley. Mrs Booth worked in a management role for the local authority-funded organisation, before being made redundant.

The decision by the Employment Tribunal sends a strong signal to employers that those who blow the whistle on wrongdoing by their employers will have the full protection of the law. Mrs Booth claimed she had been unfairly dismissed after being branded a trouble-maker for raising legitimate concerns about the conduct of her former employer organisation, Cool UK, and how services for disadvantaged young people were organised. The Employment Tribunal has found that she was made redundant as a direct result of having voiced these concerns.

Speaking in response to the Employment Tribunal judgement, Jessica Learmond Criqui, Mrs Booth’s solicitor said: “We are delighted that Steph Booth has been vindicated. Today’s judgment from the Employment Tribunal sends a very clear message to employers that they cannot resort to silencing measures against employees who raise legitimate concerns.”

“Whistleblowing takes a lot of courage and I hope that Steph’s experience acts as a beacon to other would be whistleblowers who can take comfort in the fact that the law will support them if they are mistreated by their employers because they have blown the whistle.”

Mrs. Booth spoke of her relief at being vindicated, saying it put the spotlight on failing education services. “This is a fantastic result not least because it shines the spotlight on education services such as Cool UK that fail to provide the best service they can– especially those for vulnerable young people. I took a personal risk in standing up for what I believed in and for delivering difficult truths to my former employer. I have now been vindicated. This experience has strengthened my determination to stand up for other people’s rights, in my role as a Parliamentary candidate for Calder Valley and to work tirelessly to achieve justice for them.”

The main thrust of Steph Booth’s claim was that she suffered detriments, victimisation and treatment at the hands of colleagues and the Chief Executive of Cool UK because she was a whistleblower and was ultimately dismissed from the organisation as a direct result.

Mrs. Booth took Cool UK to an employment tribunal in January. During the hearing, Simon Walker, a building tutor and former work colleague of Mrs Booth at Cool UK, told the tribunal hearing that the organisation had “woefully inadequate resources” and “chronic” funding.

He said that within a very short time of Ms Booth leaving Cool UK Ltd, “at staff meetings i.e. very publicly, people were asked if they had any ‘dirt’ on her by Mr Binding and if so he wanted to hear it. This happened on a number of occasions, directly from Mr. Binding himself and also through other senior members of staff.”

Concerns raised by Steph Booth to Gareth Binding, the Chief Executive of Cool UK, included:

• absence of health & safety training for staff and no system for sounding the fire alarm;
• members of staff buying adult pornography on the premises;
• lack of structure and punctuality for start of day activities which often left students to become bored and their interest was lost and
• constant issue of funding for even basic materials such as pens and paper.

The Employment Tribunal today ruled that she was unfairly dismissed as a direct result of having voiced these concerns.