Employment law cases in the news – 30.05.2016 to 05.06.2016

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 made the news between 30 May and 5 June 2016

  1. Consulate fined £2000 for discriminating against mother during job interview – The Japanese Consulate in Edinburgh has been hit with a hefty fine after losing an employment tribunal for discriminating against a woman during a job interview. Members of the tribunal agreed that Chihiro Macdonald, who was born in Japan and lives with her husband Martin and their two young boys in Edinburgh, had been treated unfairly after bosses at the consulate probed her on childcare (The National)
  2. Christmas eve tragedy after man crushed by hydraulic ramp – A general haulage company from Dumfries has been fined after the tragic death of a man who was crushed by a failed hydraulic ramp on Christmas Eve. Ayr Sheriff Court heard how J. & J. Currie Limited was delivering and offloading a vehicle from a trailer at Arnimean, Galloway Forest (HSE)
  3. Council whistle-blower who raised concerns about ‘unsafe’ care home in Hounslow awarded £20,000 compensation – A council whistle-blower who was sacked after raising concerns about safety at a Hounslow care home has been awarded more than £20,000 compensation. Waseem Malik, who was a senior carer at Clifton Garden Resource Centre, in Chiswick , was fired after exposing what he claimed was a culture of bullying and harassment towards staff, and insufficient safety measures for elderly residents (Get West London)
  4. Airport worker receives justice – two years after his death – An Isle of Man airport worker, who was unfairly dismissed from his job, has been unanimously vindicated by an employment tribunal – more than two years after his death. Unite, the UK’s largest union, hailed the decision in favour of Shaun McGee, who died in March 2014 at the age of 51, as a very welcome recognition that his good character has been restored, albeit posthumously (Cumbria Crack)
  5. Firms fined after worker loses fingers in power press – A London-based metal packaging company has been fined after a worker trapped his hand in a power press and lost two fingers. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of Roberts Metal Packaging Limited suffered severe damage to his left hand after getting his hand trapped underneath the punch on a mechanical power-press (HSE)
  6. Cardiff surgeon Peter O’Keefe dismissed over ‘whistle blowing’ – A heart surgeon who was dismissed for bullying colleagues has claimed he was unfairly sacked because he “blew the whistle” on patient safety concerns. Consultant Peter O’Keefe was suspended from Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales in 2012 and dismissed in August 2015 (BBC)
  7. JPMorgan Banker Says Devastating Firing Cost Him $3 Million – A JPMorgan Chase & Co. foreign-exchange salesman who was fired for failing to follow rules introduced in the wake of the market-rigging scandal said his suspension left him anxious and isolated and eventually cost him 2 million pounds ($3 million) (Bloomberg)
  8. Cycle couriers take on the big boys in battle for living wage – Toxic. That’s the word bicycle courier Maggie Dewhurst uses to describe the state of affairs which gives her all the obligations of an employee but none of the rights. Dewhurst works for courier firm CitySprint as an independent contractor but her working day sounds more like the life of any regular wage slave (The Evening Standard)