Broadband Whistleblower Wins £105k After Exposing Company's Illegal Trespass
A senior broadband executive has been awarded more than £100,000 in compensation after blowing the whistle on his company's engineers illegally trespassing on people's private property. Shawn Nolan, the former chief technology officer at Freedom Fibre, raised serious concerns about fibre engineers carrying out work on private land without proper consent, with a tribunal hearing that this occurred in a staggering 90 per cent of cases.
Systematic Law-Breaking Uncovered
The employment tribunal heard that Freedom Fibre Ltd, which builds fibre infrastructure and provides alternative network services in northwest England, systematically flouted rules around obtaining legal permissions. These permissions, known as wayleaves, are essential legal agreements required for the deployment of fixed line broadband infrastructure on private land.
Judge Zoe Thompson concluded that the company viewed wayleaves as "burdensome bureaucracy" and were "prepared to break the law" if they calculated that the risk of being sued was low or that potential damages would be outweighed by profits made from illegal installations.
Whistleblower's Concerns Dismissed
Mr Nolan took up his £135,000-a-year role with Freedom Fibre in September 2022, soon discovering that the business was "not consistently obtaining wayleaves" as required by law. When he raised these concerns with senior management, including CFO Darren Woods and CEO Neil McArthur, he was reportedly told "it's sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission."
The tribunal heard that Judge Thompson described this response as "dismissing" Mr Nolan's legitimate concerns and "condoning the practice of not getting wayleaves when they ought to."
Escalating Concerns and Sudden Dismissal
Throughout late 2022 and early 2023, Mr Nolan repeatedly raised the issue at senior leadership meetings, becoming increasingly explicit about the legal consequences of proceeding without wayleaves. These consequences included potential loss of amenity, economic loss, and damage to property for landowners.
In March 2023, another senior employee acknowledged that the delay in obtaining wayleaves was becoming "more of an issue" with business customers, with sales team members describing it as a "barrier to sale" and proposing taking "calculated risks" in deciding when to obtain the necessary permissions.
Mr Nolan found this approach "deeply concerning" and referenced an incident at his previous employer where they were sued after failing to obtain wayleaves. Despite his persistent ethical objections, he was suddenly made redundant in early May 2023 after being called to a meeting with Mr McArthur and Mr Woods.
Unfair Dismissal Ruling
The tribunal heard that Mr Nolan was initially "completely baffled" by his dismissal, with the company claiming performance issues as the main reason while offering redundancy to "soften the blow." Judge Thompson found this explanation unconvincing, noting a "callousness" to how he was dismissed without warning, particularly as he had been involved in a car crash earlier that same day.
In her ruling, Judge Thompson stated that Mr Nolan "struck us as a man of great integrity, who was clear in his view that law should be obeyed, regardless of whether you agree with it." She contrasted this with her impression of the company's witnesses, who "came across as being prepared to break the law if they could do so without the costs to their business being too high."
The judge concluded that Mr Nolan's "ethical approach was clearly at odds with the approach of the businesses' senior management," which is why they chose to dismiss him when it became obvious he would not back down and was becoming more vocal in his objections to their illegal practices.
Substantial Compensation Awarded
Upholding Mr Nolan's claims of unfair dismissal, the employment tribunal awarded him £105,510.12 as a remedy for his successful claim. The ruling serves as a significant warning to companies operating in regulated industries about the consequences of dismissing whistleblowers who expose illegal practices.
Freedom Fibre, which is regulated by communications watchdog Ofcom, now faces scrutiny over its compliance with legal requirements for broadband infrastructure deployment. The case highlights the tension between commercial pressures in the competitive broadband market and the legal obligations companies have to obtain proper permissions before working on private property.
