Employment law stories in the news – 06.04.2015 to 12.04.2015

redmans-blog-newsIn 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 6 April and 12 April 2015

  1. Hertfordshire manufacturer in court after worker breaks arm in mailing machine – A Hertfordshire packaging company has been fined for safety failings after a worker broke his arm in a poorly guarded mailing machine at a factory in Melbourn (HSE)
  2. Acas research reveals contracts as top concern in British workplaces – New independent research has found that the most common subjects of 1,685 calls to the Acas Helpline were around ‘contracts’ (43%) and ‘discipline, dismissal and grievance’ (42%). The third most common subject group was ‘redundancy, lay-offs and business transfers’ (25%) (HR Director)
  3. Labour pledges to abolish tribunal fees system – Labour has pledged to abolish the employment tribunal fees system if the party comes to power on 7 May. The party included the policy in its work manifesto after saying the coalition government’s introduction of charges up to £1,200 in July 2013 had been a ‘significant barrier’ to workplace justice and failed to raise any money (The Law Society Gazette)
  4. Banker Svetlana Lokhova wins £3.1m payout over colleagues’ drug lies and bullying after ‘crazy Miss Cokehead’ nickname – A woman banker in the London office of a Russian bank has been awarded £3.1 million after being driven to mental collapse by a campaign of harassment and unfounded drug slurs. An employment tribunal found that Cambridge graduate Svetlana Lokhova had been a victim of harassment, victimisation and discrimination amounting to constructive dismissal (The Evening Standard)
  5. UK research shows anti-lesbian and gay job-seeker discrimination – A survey published today suggests that discrimination against lesbian and gay job seekers is commonplace across the United Kingdom. Dr Nick Drydakis of Anglia Ruskin University carried out a research that included 144 first-time job seekers students from 12 randomly selected Universities across the UK making 11,098 applications to 5549 firms (Kaleidoscot)
  6. UK’s top 5 banks slash bonus pools by more than £1bn – The UK’s five largest banks cut bonus pools by more than £1bn last year and most also reduced pay and staff numbers, according to Financial Times analysis, potentially blunting political attacks on banker excess ahead of the general election (Financial Times)
  7. Black police officer wins race discrimination case against force that wouldn’t promote him because of his colour – A black police constable has won a race discrimination case against his force after they did not promote him due to the colour of his skin. Ronnie Lungu was singled out as ‘a marked man’ by Wiltshire Police solely due to his race, the employment tribunal ruled (The Mail Online)
  8. Nearly half of employers ‘unlikely’ to hire overweight workers – People who are overweight are perceived to be less productive and are less likely to be hired for jobs, according to a study which examined the attitudes of 1,000 British employers. Nearly half of recruiters questioned said they would be less inclined to recruit an applicant at interview stage if they are obese (The Telegraph)
  9. Retired teacher who was exposed to asbestos received £210,000 after mesothelioma diagnosis – A retired teacher who spent 11 years working in classrooms containing asbestos secured a personal injury claim for £210,000 after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the NASUWT union has revealed (Schools Week)
  10. Fine for Stockport firm after worker falls from height – Stockport-based Solutions SK Ltd has been fined after a worker sustained a broken heel when he fell from a ladder while installing cables for an alarm system. As the man started to descend the ladder, it slipped. He jumped from it and sustained a fractured heel(HSE)