Employment law cases in the news – 28.07.2014 to 03.08.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made the news between 28 July and 3 August 2014.

  1. Bus driver wins £10k payout after being sacked during sick leave – A coach driver has won a £10,000 payout after complaining he was unfairly sacked while on sick leave with arthritis and diabetes. Tamworth Coach & Bus Ltd, based in the Staffordshire town, was ordered to hand over the cash to David Blower, from Grendon, near Atherstone (The Birmingham Mail)
  2. Tribunal orders council to compensate workers offered cash to sign away rights – Bromley Council has been ordered to pay more than £64,000 in compensation to 18 of its staff, after an employment tribunal ruled it had offered employees cash incentives to sign new contracts that took them out of existing collective bargaining agreements (UNISON)
  3. Fermanagh woman sacked after becoming pregnant compensated – A County Fermanagh woman has been awarded more than £23,000 after a tribunal found she was subjected to sex discrimination because of pregnancy and was unfairly dismissed. Nicola McNamee was awarded £7,500 for injury to her feelings and £15,788 compensation for loss of earnings (BBC)
  4. Illegal immigrant Mary Hounga can claim discrimination, says landmark Supreme Court ruling – Illegal immigrants are entitled to bring court actions against their employers for discrimination, the Supreme Court has said in a landmark judgment. Britain’s most senior court said a young Nigerian woman who was brought to this country to work illegally when she was just 14 is entitled to protection under the law (The Telegraph)
  5. Senior Tameside Hospital nurse ‘violated patients’ dignity’, employment tribunal hears – A senior nurse at a failing hospital ‘violated patients’ dignity’ by playing games with their food and sticking notes on their backs, a tribunal has heard. Jean Haydr, 48, of Droylsden, was sacked from Tameside General Hospital for allegedly threatening colleagues and teasing patients, an employment tribunal in Manchester city centre was told. She claims she was dismissed for raising concerns over the standard of patient care (The Manchester Evening News)
  6. ‘Scapegoat’ fired over NCP deal claims unfair dismissal – A senior officer exposed Worthing Borough Council to potential losses of £1.5million after signing a flawed contract with parking firm NCP, a tribunal heard. Former executive head of technical services Cliff Harrison was dismissed for gross misconduct in November after failing to spot shortcomings in a car parking contract in 2009 (The Shoreham Herald)
  7. South Shields depressed teacher felt school bosses were out to get her – School bosses have been rapped for taking too long to investigate complaints a depressed teacher was discriminated against. An employment tribunal has said that governors at St Wilfrid’s RC College in South Shields wrongly delayed an investigation into claims from science teacher Rachel Chinnery (The Chronicle Live)
  8. Lawyer sacked over car crash takes employers to tribunal – A lawyer who was sacked after causing a head-on smash is taking her former employers to an employment tribunal. Moray-born Emma Knox claims she was unfairly dismissed from her job as the procurator fiscal for Inverness after admitting that she was to blame for a crash which nearly claimed her life (The Press and Journal)
  9. Sailor claims she was harassed during yacht race – She gave up her life as an employment lawyer with the aim of spending 11 months – and £40,000 – sailing around the world, only to find that the once-in-a-lifetime adventure would end up back in front of an employment tribunal. In a case brought against one of Britain’s best known seafarers, lawyer-turned-sailor Ruth Harvey is suing the organisers of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race after claiming she suffered victimisation and harassment while on board (The Independent)
  10. High Court delivers landmark ruling on staff poaching in broker row – The High Court has ruled against an employee who refused to serve his notice period after being hired by a rival firm. The landmark case was brought by derivatives trader Sunrise Brokers after Michael Rodgers walked out on the firm in March 2014 after accepting a post with a competing firm based in the US (CityWire)