Employment law stories in the news – 09.02.2015 to 15.02.2015

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 the news between 9 February and 15 February 2015

  1. UK’s Labour says would extend bank bonus clawback to 10 years – Britain’s opposition Labour party said on Friday it would extend to at least 10 years the length of time over which miscreant bankers face having their bonuses clawed back, if it wins a national election in May. As part of a regulatory clamp-down on wrongdoing in the financial sector, the Bank of England last year announced bankers could have their bonuses clawed back for up to seven years from the date they were fully paid out (Daily Mail)
  2. Lake District council prosecuted over bin lorry deaths – A council in the Lake District has been fined £120,000 after two women were killed by reversing rubbish trucks within a year of each other. South Lakeland District Council was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the local authority had failed to tackle the risks from reversing vehicles (HSE)
  3. Met agrees final settlement in Carol Howard discrimination case – The Metropolitan Police has agreed a final settlement with an officer it discriminated against. Firearms officer Carol Howard, 35, was “singled out and targeted” for nearly a year, a panel ruled last year (BBC)
  4. Tribunal finds GMP victimised black police officer, leading to fresh claims of ‘institutional racism’ – Greater Manchester Police discriminated against and victimised a black police officer by failing to investigate his complaints of racism, an employment tribunal has ruled. Detective Constable Paul Bailey complained that he had been racially discriminated against when he was summarily ordered to return from a secondment at the North West Regional Crime Unit (The Manchester Evening News)
  5. Concern over ‘tax on justice’ for employees sparks coalition clash – Vince Cable has privately clashed with the Tory justice secretary, Chris Grayling, over an alarming drop in the number of sexual discrimination cases being heard at employment tribunals since the government attached a fee to seeking legal redress. The Liberal Democrat business secretary has ordered his officials to investigate into whether the fees are proving to be a barrier to justice (The Guardian)
  6. Plans for new legal protection for NHS whistleblowers – A new report on progress made across the health system has been published, along with plans to protect those who speak up about poor care (Gov.uk)
  7. Equality Commission ‘must pay £8,000 for sex discrimination’ – A solicitor has been awarded £8,000 after she won a sex discrimination case against her employer, the Equality Commission. Elizabeth Kennedy was not allowed to return to her permanent job after she took a five-year career break (BBC)
  8. Tribunal rules obesity to be treated as disability after ex-Randox worker described as ‘so fat he would hardly feel a knife being stuck in him’ – A Belfast employment tribunal has found obese workers in Northern Ireland are entitled to the same protection as the disabled if they are subjected to humiliating, degrading or violating treatment (The Belfast Telegraph)
  9. Cleveland Police commissioner drops legal fight to recoup £500,000 from sacked chief constable – The police commissioner has dropped a legal fight against sacked chief constable Sean Price to recoup more than £500,000. A civil court hearing was due to take place next month but the case has been withdrawn after an agreement has been made between Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger and Mr Price (The Gazette Live)
  10. Successful prosecution of recruitment firm boss who failed to pay worker – The former director of employment business WHG Offshore LTD has pleaded guilty of failure to pay a work-seeker after the firm went into administration in 2012 (Gov.uk)