Employment tribunal stories in the news – 23.06.2014 to 29.06.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment tribunal stories in the news this week, we take a look at seven employment tribunal cases that have made the news between 23 June and 29 June 2014.

  1. £700,000 payout for older drivers dismissed over insurance costs – An employer that dismissed drivers over 67 after claiming that its insurance provider would not insure them has admitted liability for age discrimination and unfair dismissal midway through the drivers’ case and has been ordered to pay over £700,000 to 20 drivers (Xpert HR)
  2. Receptionist ‘was hit and called black slave and dog by Qatari Embassy official’ – A British receptionist was allegedly called a “black slave” and hit by a senior official at the Qatari Embassy in London in a sustained campaign of racial bullying. Mohamoud Ahmed, 73, was employed at the gas-rich Gulf state’s embassy in Mayfair for almost 20 years and also acted as a security guard (The Evening Standard)
  3. Christian beauty worker sacked from job at Heathrow Airport ‘after fundamentalist colleagues accused her of being anti-Islam’ – A Christian working at London Heathrow Airport has claimed that harassment by fundamentalist Muslim colleagues led to her dismissal. Nohad Halawi, 49, says she was wrongly accused of being ‘anti-Islam’ and unlawfully dismissed while working as a uniformed beauty consultant in the duty-free shop at Terminal 3 (The Mail Online)
  4. Fife Council education chief accused of lacking credibility during employment tribunal – Fife Council’s area education officer has been criticised for his evidence to an employment tribunal in which a teacher was awarded more than £28,000 for disability discrimination. John McLaughlin was described as evasive and lacking credibility by tribunal judge Ian McFatridge, who ruled that the local authority did not make reasonable adjustments to the working conditions of ME sufferer Shauna Shields (The Courier)
  5. Devon workers ‘could claim thousands in unpaid commission’ after EU Court ruling – Many Devon businesses could be forced to pay thousands of pounds in backdated commission to their employees following a ruling by European judges, an Exeter lawyer has warned. The landmark ruling comes after British Gas salesman Mr Lock took his employer to an employment tribunal, claiming his commission should be paid on top of his basic salary while he was on annual leave (The Exeter Express and Echo)
  6. Care home firm wrong to sack worker who allowed colleague to fall asleep on night shift – A Crieff care home worker who allowed a colleague to doze off on night shift was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled. It decided management staff of Ashdene Court in Ferntower Road were wrong to have regarded Ewa Horakova’s misconduct as “gross” (The Courier)
  7. Christie hospital in secret talks ahead of £300,000 court battle over ‘bullying case’ – Secret talks are taking place to settle a £300,000 damages claim for bullying against The Christie out of court, the M.E.N can reveal. A former director of the world-renowned cancer treatment centre in Withington is suing the hospital after claims she was held in a room and threatened (The Manchester Evening News)