Allegations Of Whistleblowing In Wrongful Dismissal Claims

• Published date: 09 March 2022
• Law Firm: Shook Lin & Bok
• Author: Mr Probin Dass and Charles Lim

Bhuta Viral Ashok v UTI International (Singapore) Private Limited and others [2021] SGDC 109

In Bhuta Viral Ashok v UTI International (Singapore) Private Limited and others [2021] SGDC 109, the Singapore District Court rejected the plaintiff ex-employee's claim that his dismissal from employment had been a retaliation for his "whistleblowing" actions, after a detailed scrutiny of the available evidence. This case may be one of the first reported decisions where the Court examined the circumstances under which a complainant would be deemed a genuine whistleblower, such that the complainant may avail himself to the relevant contractual protections afforded to whistleblowers commonly found in the policies of large organisations.

Facts

DC/DC 2058/2017 ("DC 2058") was an action by the plaintiff ex-employee against the defendants for wrongful dismissal, defamation, and conspiracy to injure.

The Plaintiff was an ex-employee who had been employed by the Company as a "Portfolio Manager - Fixed Income" and registered as a capital markets services representative with the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS"). Sometime in December 2015, the defendant company ("Company") terminated his employment following an...