Employment law cases in the news – 12.01.2015 to 18.01.2015

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made headlines between 12 January 2015 and 18 January 2015

  1. Tesco and former Stobart drivers end long-running dispute – Former Tesco delivery drivers who claim they were unfairly sacked by haulage firm Eddie Stobart have reached an out-of-court settlement with the company. The 184 drivers were made redundant in 2012 when Stobart won the contract for Tesco’s Doncaster distribution centre (BBC)
  2. Oven death firm Pyranha Mouldings guilty of manslaughter – A kayak manufacturer has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter after a worker became trapped and died in an industrial oven in Cheshire. Alan Catterall, 54, tried to escape using a crowbar but suffered severe burns at the Pyranha Mouldings factory in Runcorn in 2010. He died of shock (BBC)
  3. Life-changing injuries of two employees lead to court for Newport company – A Newport roller manufacturer has been fined after two employees suffered life-changing injuries whilst operating rotating machinery. Stephen Harris, 53, from Pontnewydd, was drawn into a powered lathe that he was using to unwrap cloth from a processing roller at Moonsys Technology Ltd, trading as Recovery Rollers, on 22 May 2013 (HSE)
  4. More woe for Oldham as sacked player plans to sue for £100,000 – Oldham Athletic, a club still reeling from the disastrous decision to consider signing rapist Ched Evans, are facing a possible £100,000 legal action for sacking a player over spot-fixing charges which have now been dropped (The Independent)
  5. Council workers’ victory at employment tribunal – Thousands of female North Lanarkshire Council workers have won a victory in their long running battle over equal pay. Glasgow Employment Tribunal has ruled there is no descrection in law to vary the judical rate of eight per cent interest in the case of McCarthy and others v North Lanarkshire Council (Motherwell Times)
  6. Royal Mail worker claims ‘bullying boss timed staff toilet breaks’ – Somali-born Shamin Husen, 30, also claims she was banned from attending prayers by her manager. Royal Mail parcel sorters had to seek permission to use the toilet – and their visits were timed, an employee has claimed (The Mirror)
  7. Pc moved into office role ‘after telling bosses blue-flashing lights on police cars don’t work’ – A police officer who starred in the hit BBC series Motorway Cops was bullied and moved off her team after telling bosses that blue-flashing lights on patrol cars were cutting out, a tribunal has heard. Jessica Davies claims she was moved into an office role when she told how a computer glitch switched off the lights during high-speed chases (The Telegraph)
  8. Lombard Odier wins £2.7m legal row with ex-hedge fund manager – A Lombard Odier whistleblower, who accused the firm of unfair dismissal and mismanagement of client money, has lost his legal battle against the private bank (City Wire)
  9. Former Calderstones trust chief executive claims she was forced out of role due to ‘macho culture’ which included derogatory homosexual jokes – A former chief executive of a health trust in East Lancashire claims she was forced out of her role because of a ‘macho culture’ which included telling derogatory jokes about homosexuals (The Blackburn Citizen)