Whistleblower loses his unfair dismissal claim (From Bicester Advertiser)

Whistleblower loses his unfair dismissal claim

9:30am Saturday 18th August 2012 in News

A POLICE sergeant who claimed he was bullied out of his job in a row over his damning report on colleagues, has lost his claim.

Robert Krykant criticised the way that fellow officers investigated a child’s death.

But the whistleblower had a “distorted view” of the facts, the tribunal concluded yesterday.

Mr Krykant, below, argued that after writing the damning review lifting the lid on the Major Crime Team’s handling of an investigation into the death of a four-month-old baby boy, he was victimised and harassed by managers.

The 57-year-old from Abingdon sued Thames Valley Police for unfair dismissal because he disclosed information in the public interest.

However, the father-of-two’s case was dismissed after it was found he overstepped his remit and made judgments without having all the facts.

Employment Judge Jessica Hill said: “The tribunal concludes that although there were some disclosures that were protected Public Interest Disclosures... as a result of making those disclosures the claimant did not suffer any detriment.

“On the contrary, he was taken seriously. The matters he identified were investigated, but a different view was reached.

“His perception that in some way he was treated less favourably because he made the disclosures, is simply a distorted view of what took place.”