Employment Tribunal cases in the news this week – 19.08.2013 to 25.08.2013

hmctsA round-up of links to stories about employment tribunal rulings reported in the week beginning 19 August 2013, including a worker who won his Employment Tribunal claim for harassment after being subjected to derogatory nicknames at work and a “bullied” worker who is waiting for her Employment Tribunal claim to be heard.

  1. Worker wins harassment claim at the Employment Tribunal after being called “golliwog Brian” at work – The owner of a multi-million pound firm failed to stop her staff calling another employee ‘golliwog Brian’ because she did not think there was anything wrong with the nickname.Amanda Miles, 40, ‘tolerated a culture of racism’ at her fruit and vegetable wholesaler, an employment tribunal found (The Daily Mail)
  2. Chippy midwife loses ‘bullying’ tribunal – A midwife who claimed she was punished by NHS managers after revealing working practices she believed put patients at risk has lost an employment tribunal. Louise Westwood said she was wrongly accused of bullying after reporting concerns at the Cotswold Maternity Unit in Chipping Norton (The Banbury Guardian)
  3. Tribunal rules part-time judges entitled to pension for whole of service – An employment tribunal has ruled that part time judges are entitled to have their pension eligibility calculated from when they began their employment, even if this was before rules preventing discrimination of part time workers (Workplace Savings and Benefits)
  4. Agency employee able to bring unfair dismissal claim when job closed – An employed temp did not leave by ‘mutual consent’ when his work moved elsewhere, says the EAT (CIPD)
  5. ‘Bullied’ worker awaits tribunal hearing – A healthcare assistant at Southend Hospital awaits the outcome of a tribunal after giving an emotional statement of her experiences of alleged bullying. Gillian Austin, 58, is attempting to sue the hospital for £185,000 in damages, claiming she was subjectedto six months of victimisation (Southsea Standard)
  6. Former teacher taking Lathallan School to tribunal over safety claims – The former head of science at a prestigious private school in Angus became a “whistleblower” after he claimed serious breaches of health and safety were being ignored by senior staff, including the headmaster (The Courier)
  7. Worker loses Employment Tribunal breach of contract claim over lunch break payments – A worker has lost his breach of contract claim against his employer after he sued over lunch break payments that he believed should have been made under the terms of his contract (Redditch & Alcester Advertiser)
  8. Employee has Employment Tribunal claim struck out after unreasonable behaviour in the hearing – An employee on the Isle of Man has had his claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal struck out after the Employment Judge found that he had been “insulting on many occasions and offensive” (The IOM Today)
  9. Sacked carer launches whistleblowing claim in the Employment Tribunal after she alleged that residents were treated badly – A sacked care manager is fighting for compensation amid claims she was unfairly dismissed for whistle-blowing. Donna Savigar was responsible for 70 people with learning difficulties living in various facilities run by Stoke-on-Trent Council. But she claims she was unfairly sacked after making whistle blowing allegations about the treatment of residents (The Sentinel)