Gareth Brahams, Managing Partner and Nick Wilcox, Partner, of employment law specialists Brahams Dutt Badrick French LLP (BDBF) have successfully represented the claimant, former–CEO, Mr Osipov, in this landmark whistleblowing case.

Today the Court of Appeal has in Timis v Osipov upheld landmark decisions made by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) awarding the ex-CEO of International Petroleum Ltd, Mr. Osipov, in excess of £2 million gross.  This was one of the highest sums ever awarded by an Employment Tribunal.

Shareholder and Chairman instructed to fire whistleblower, Mr Osipov

Frank Timis, a director and the largest individual shareholder in International Petroleum, had been exposed for instructing fellow director and Chairman of the Company, Tony Sage, to fire Mr Osipov for whistleblowing.

Shareholder and Chairman held personally liable for whistleblowing damages

Under the whistle blowing provisions of the Employment Rights Act, on behalf of Mr Osipov, BDBF successfully sued not just the Company but Frank Timis and Tony Sage personally.

This ruling establishes that if an individual director is behind the decision to dismiss someone for making protected disclosures, they can themselves be held personally liable and suffer the financial consequences.

Gareth Brahams, Managing Partner of BDBF, says of their victory: "We are naturally very pleased with this decision, first and foremost because it upholds a very substantial award of compensation that is long overdue to our client. We are also happy to have had the principle of individual as well as corporate liability for victimising whistle blowers by dismissing them upheld at this level in the Courts. We believe this will encourage decision makers to think more carefully than ever before giving instructions to dismiss an employee for whistle blowing and will encourage employers to take steps to train their staff so as to prevent any such actions occurring in the first place"