Penalties for Whistleblowers: The Chilling Costs of Warning About the Safety of Sellafield

The nuclear facility and its regulator, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), have been contesting employment tribunal claims made by a former contractor whose contract was terminated in 2018.

The joint legal bill for the two organisations in the case has been revealed through Freedom of Information laws to have risen to £670,000 exclusive of VAT. With VAT factored in, the publicly-funded legal bill is now in excess of £800,000.

Alison McDermott was contracted by Sellafield to review the equality strategy and practices at the vast site along the Cumbrian coast between 2017 and 2018. She alleges her contract was terminated after she produced a report that was critical of Sellafield’s HR function. Sellafield, however, has argued and still maintains that her dismissal was down to “performance issues”.

McDermott has publicly spoken out a number of times over what she describes as the facility’s “toxic” workplace culture, which she argues has had an adverse impact on workers’ well-being and public safety. “You’ve got toxic materials and a toxic culture,” she told the BBC in 2021. “If you put those two together then you’ve got a recipe for disaster.” 

Sellafield told the BBC at the time: “To date we have found no issues that have resulted in unsafe activities at the site or evidence which identifies that Sellafield is not complying with the laws under our regulatory responsibility.”

McDermott lost an initial employment tribunal claim against Sellafield and the NDA in 2021. Although errors were found in that judgment subsequently, she now faces substantial legal costs.

While upholding part of the original judgment, an employment appeal tribunal ruling found that McDermotte had made protected disclosures during her time as a contractor with Sellafield – which affords her whistleblowing protections under UK employment law.

Sellafield issued a statement regarding a recent interview she gave to The Guardian newspaper, in which it was suggested that she worked as little as 21 days before her contract was terminated. Former colleagues at Sellafield explained however that the original contract was for a year. 

Both Sellafield and the NDA have sought to claim the maximum costs available to them in McDermott’s case and a costs order totalling £40,000 has been made against her. It was also disclosed at a tribunal hearing that Sellafield and the NDA had sought legal advice as to whether McDermott’s Crowdjustice page could be shut down.

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Andrew Pepper-Parsons, from the whistleblowing charity Protect, told Byline Times that seeking the award of costs from Ms McDermott “might prevent somebody or might make someone think twice about bringing forward a claim” concerning Sellafield or the UK’s nuclear industry in future.

He added that policymakers “might want to have a look at rules around where those cost orders can be applied for where we’re talking about public money and it being from a public authority where they have a lot more money than other organisations”.

He also said: “I think it would be worrying if the public sector or any employer was trying to pursue costs on the basis of trying to recoup money from the whistleblower because I think that person has lost their job either way. I think it would be pretty worrying, if that were the attitude and it is very concerning when these orders are issued.”

McDermott has lodged an appeal application, which is due to be heard in 2024.

“Alison McDermott’s contract was legally terminated owing to performance issues,” Sellafield and the NDA said in a joint statement. “This was the judgment of the Employment Tribunal, which was later upheld on appeal.  The EAT [Employment Appeals Tribunal] also upheld the tribunal’s written judgment, which was clear: the claims made against Sellafield Ltd in this case were entirely without substance, and there was no basis for claims against the NDA.”

The statement added: “We remain committed to eradicating bullying and harassment. We do not tolerate this behaviour and where we find it, we address it.”

Fresh questions have been raised around Sellafield’s alleged bullying culture amid recent staff surveys and reports of abusive behaviour among its senior staff.

Internal communications purportedly sent by ex-Labour MP for Copeland, Jamie Reed, described various workers at Sellafield as “poisonous”, “useless”, “corrupt” and “shithouses”.
He is alleged to have sent the messages while working as Sellafield’s head of corporate affairs, after having quit his role as the area’s MP in 2018 to take up the executive position.
In another expletive-heavy exchange, he reportedly said residents of nearby west Cumbrian town Cockermouth can “fuck off”.

Sellafield says it investigated a formal complaint into the messages, which were first reported by Private Eye magazine. Reed was subsequently promoted from the executive role he held at Sellafield to the position of NDA’s director of socio-economics, in which he remains.

“These allegations were thoroughly and rigorously investigated by Sellafield Ltd at the time, in accordance with our internal investigations process,” said a Sellafield spokesperson. There was found to be no case to answer.”

When asked by Byline Times, Sellafield declined to provide details of the internal investigation. The NDA did not respond to Byline Times’ queries concerning the recruitment process for Reed’s appointment and due diligence questions in relation to the same.