Employment law cases in the news – 11.01.2016 to 17.01.2016

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we examine 10 employment law cases that have made the news between 11 January 2016 and 17 January 2016

  1. DWP bosses say they ‘couldn’t have done any more’ to help disabled colleague – A job centre boss said a disabled worker was relocated to the back of an office after he complained of ill health and a hairspray-using colleague was moved. Eiddwen Borland told an employment tribunal in Llangefni that “reasonable steps” were taken to help Barrie Caulcutt , who suffers from anxiety, asthma and eczema, after he’d asked for help (The Daily Post)
  2. Firms fined after two employees were injured in cold store collapse – Two companies were fined for safety failings that led to two workers being seriously injured at a construction site when a cold store collapsed under them. John Sisk and Son Limited (Sisk) of St Albans, Hertfordshire was appointed as principal contractor for fitting out a new distribution warehouse in Motherwell (HSE)
  3. Woman banned from speaking Polish at work wins £5,000 payout – A woman who was banned from speaking her native language with colleagues has been awarded £5,000 in compensation by an employment tribunal. Magdalena Konieczna was subjected to racial harrassment at Whitelink Seafoods in Aberdeen after she spoke to Polish staff – who could not speak English – in their native tongue. Her manager described Poles as “f***ing Poles” and the “f***ing Polish” in her presence (Scottish Legal)
  4. Ex-Barclays, Citi FX traders sue for unfair dismissal in London – Two former foreign exchange traders will this month sue their former employers Barclays and Citigroup for unfair dismissal at a London court. Former Barclays FX trader Jack Murray is suing the bank and is scheduled to appear at the East London employment tribunal on January 28, according to court filings released on Wednesday (Reuters)
  5. Three companies fined after construction worker seriously injured in fall from height – Three companies have been fined a total of £90,000 after a worker was seriously injured when he fell nearly six metres from a platform with unguarded rails. Southwark Crown Court heard that on 4 March 2013 two workers accessed the top level of a unit which was to be dismantled as part of construction work at a site in Westferry Road, London (HSE)
  6. Barmaid who fell pregnant told to leave before becoming ‘fat and wobbly’ – A bar manager who fell unexpectedly pregnant was told by bosses she would have to go before she became “fat and wobbly,” an employment tribunal was told. Rachel Skeffington and her partner were then ordered to move out of the gastro-pub accommodation where they had lived for five months (The Telegraph)
  7. Fingerprint officer Fiona McBride, who was at the centre of the Shirley McKie case, takes fight to get her job back to the Supreme Court – A fingerprint officer who was dismissed in the wake of the infamous Shirley McKie case is taking her fight to get her job back to the UK’s highest court. Fiona McBride is seeking to be reinstated by the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) almost nine years after she was dismissed from its predecessor the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) (Herald Scotland)
  8. Hawick Knitwear: Compensation hopes for redundant staff – A law firm’s employment specialist has said he believes more than 100 staff made redundant at Hawick Knitwear could be entitled to compensation. The company went into administration last week (BBC)
  9. Trojan Horse tribunal rejects Muslim teaching assistants’ unfair dismissal claims – An employment tribunal involving a school at the heart of the Trojan Horse affair has ended with judges upholding a claim for unfair dismissal by one teaching assistant while rejecting related cases by her three Muslim colleagues (The Guardian)
  10. Couple harassed by sex-obsessed boss are awarded nearly £40,000 in damages by tribunal – A young couple have told of their “relief” after being awarded almost £40,000 for sexual harassment over their sex-obsessed boss taunting them about their love lives. Maxine Williams, 29, told a tribunal how boss Danny Butterworth groped her and made lewd remarks about her “boobs, bum and sex life” in front of her boyfriend colleague Graham Healiss, 27 (The Mirror)