In Rogers v Picturehouse Cinemas Limited, R was a BECTU union representative. She was dismissed for three reasons: (1) sending an email after a union meeting that encouraged ‘cyber-picketing’, i.e. block booking cinema seats in an online basket without any intention to purchase the tickets, preventing genuine sales; (2) failing to report to PC Ltd or BECTU that she had sent the email; and, (3) failing to report to PC Ltd or BECTU that there had been cyber picketing at Hackney cinema. An ET found that R was automatically unfairly dismissed under S.152(1)(b) Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 in that she had taken part in the activities of an independent trade union at an appropriate time. The sending of the email amounted to a trade union activity, it was protected by S152(1)(b), there was legitimate expectation it would be reported, and R genuinely believed that the activity had formed part of the furtherance of the industrial action in which BECTU was engaged at the time. 

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