Employment law stories in the news – 03.09.2018 to 09.09.2018

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at ten employment law stories that have made headlines between 3 September and 9 September 2018

  1. Tata Steel fined after worker fell into open pit – A steel company has today been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker fell into an open pit. Sheffield Crown Court heard how, on 26 February 2014, Mr Steven Ayres was working at Tata Steels Billet Mill in Stocksbridge when he was tasked with emptying a skip at the bottom of an open pit (HSE)
  2. Santander woman fired because of dressage, not discrimination – tribunal told – Santander Asset Management has dismissed claims it fired a female worker in the wake of her breast cancer treatment, saying it did so because she competed in a dressage competition during work hours and then lied about it (Financial News)
  3. Pilot who listed Star Wars character as reference must repay training costs – Lawyers have sounded fresh warnings about the importance of checking references properly, after a pilot was found by a tribunal to have used a pseudonym for a Star Wars villain on an application form (People Management)
  4. Man wins more than £30,000 after taking Sticks and Broth owner to court – An ex-employee of an award-winning ramen noodle bar in Bristol has taken the owner to court and won more than £30,000 in damages (The Bristol Post)
  5. Council fined after workers exposed to asbestos – Kent County Council (KCC) has today been fined £200,000 after asbestos was disturbed at Lansdowne Primary School. Canterbury Crown Court heard how, on 6 November 2014, an environmental health officer was carrying out a routine food inspection when they noticed what looked like asbestos rope hanging from the ceiling (HSE)
  6. Depressed worker not discriminated against by retirement process that took 13 months – A prison inspector was not discriminated against after it took more than a year to fully process his early retirement request, the Court of Appeal ruled earlier this week (People Management)
  7. Football referees win HMRC case over employment status – Football referees have shown a red card to the taxman after winning a legal battle over a £584,000 penalty charge in a landmark case about the nature of employment (Financial Times)
  8. Rail union suffers legal defeat over striking staff’s key claim – Rail companies have scored a victory in Britain’s longest running industrial dispute after an employment tribunal threw out a central legal claim brought by striking staff (The Times)
  9. NHS accused of racial discrimination on pay for senior doctors – The NHS has been accused of racial discrimination in pay after evidence showed that white senior doctors earned almost £5,000 more than colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds (The Guardian)
  10. Ex-Cantor trader alleges unethical trading activity at investment bank – A former high-yield trader is suing Cantor Fitzgerald for £1.2m in a British employment tribunal case, claiming he was unfairly dismissed from the New York-based investment bank after blowing the whistle on prohibited trading activity (Financial Times)