A former vet who resigned from her employment with the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) (the “Respondent”) in Northern Ireland has received a huge £1.25 million settlement and an (often rare) apology following a finding that she had been constructively dismissed.
Dr Tamara Bronckaers v DAERA
Case background
Dr Tamara Bronckaers worked for DAERA for 19 years and was an expert in livestock market legislation. Her role involved her dealing with livestock markets, biosecurity, and monitoring animal-borne diseases that could be passed onto humans.
During the course of her employment, Dr Bronckaers raised concerns with DAERA about breaches of animal welfare at livestock markets and problems in the meat supply chain. She also identified and raised serious failings relating to the movement of cattle and, in particular, the abuse of a process called “deleted moves”. This was a process where a dealer would buy an animal without having someone to instantly sell it to, joining the dealer’s herd for a period of time before a buyer was found and subsequently potentially increasing the value of the animal. The move of the animal to the dealer’s herd would be deleted from the tracing systems visible in the markets.
Dr Bronckaers claimed that this practice could affect the traceability of meat within the food supply chain and have an impact on the spread of diseases in cattle, such as tuberculosis.
Dr Bronckaers informed the Tribunal that 4,800 to 5,000 animals were having their moves deleted out of livestock markets annually.
Unfortunately for Dr Bronckaers, her concerns were completely ignored by DAERA, and no action was taken in relation to those. Following raising those concerns, Dr Bronckaers said she felt “excluded, ignored and undermined” in her employment, so much so that she felt her continued employment with DAERA was untenable and that there was no option but for her to resign and look for alternative employment elsewhere.
Tribunal findings
In September 2021, a Tribunal found that Dr Bronckaers had been constructively dismissed.
During the Tribunal, Dr Bronckaers stated:
“Animal welfare was a major concern to me and I witnessed first-hand animals suffering unnecessarily and that in one market, lame sheep and cattle or animals were left overnight without food or water.”
Dr Bronckaers also took photographic evidence of the alleged animal abuse at Ballymena Livestock Market after a tip-off that sheep had been kept there overnight. By law, sheep may only be left overnight at a livestock market as long as they have bedding, water, and food. However, Dr Bronckaers did not witness any of this.
The issue of “deleted moves” was also raised in the Tribunal.
John McShane, Dr Bronckaer’s Solicitor, claimed she had tried to raise concerns and many of her emails were simply ignored so she felt she had to leave.
The Tribunal Judge said Dr Bronckaers had been reasonable to persist in raising her concerns, and that she had been professionally ignored, undermined, and excluded by Dr Henderson (deputy chief vet at DAERA) in particular.
The Judge also found it was reasonable for Dr Bronckaers to regard chief vet – Robert Huey’s – actions towards her as “intimidation, patronising, belittling, and dismissive of her as a professional”.
The case is a landmark case, with the £1.25 million settlement believed to be the largest for this type of claim in Northern Ireland. It has resulted in a large-scale internal review by DAERA and the setting up of a task force, specifically in place to implement the recommendations made as a result of that internal review.
In a statement, Dr Bronckaers said:
“This outcome has been a long time coming and I can move on in the knowledge that I did what was right, and I now have a long-awaited and justified apology from the department.”
Comment
Dr Bronckaer’s case illustrates just how expensive ‘getting it wrong’ can be for employers. It is also a reminder of the reputational damage that employers can suffer when issues in the workplace are not listened to and/or managed in the way that they ought to be, with this particular case receiving widespread media coverage and prompting outrage amongst many.
The legal framework underpinning the protection from whistleblowing and constructive dismissal and the interplay between those two areas is complicated and can be tricky for employers to navigate in practice. Regular and up-to-date training in respect of recognising and dealing with whistleblowing and concerns raised in the workplace generally is well-advised and something that Nelsons can assist with if required.
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