Speaking to the press was a trade union activity – Hannan v The Royal Society of the Arts
Image of Adam Ohringer
Adam Ohringer represented the claimant in her successful claim for trade union dismissal against the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA).
Ms Hannan was an active member of the IWGB union and instrumental in its campaign for recognition by the RSA. As part of that campaign, she gave a briefing to a journalist who wrote about the dispute quoting Ms Hannan in an article which appeared in The Observer on 9 October 2022. The RSA considered Ms Hannan’s contribution to the article had been disparaging and, the following day, she was dismissed.
The Tribunal found that in briefing the press Ms Hannan had been taking part in the activities of an independent trade union. Her dismissal for that activity was therefore an unfair dismissal under s.152(1)(b) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
The full written judgment is awaited but the case has been reported on here:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/rsa-trade-union-dismissal-hannan/
https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/rsa-unfairly-dismissed-employee-for-union-activity/
