Employment law stories in the news – 09.05.2016 to 15.05.2016

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 May and 15 May 2016

  1. Major frozen food manufacturer fined for safety failings – A major frozen food manufacturer based in Whittlesey, near Peterborough, has been fined £800,000 for safety failings after an employee nearly lost his arm. Peterborough Crown Court heard how a 34-year-old employee was attempting to check the condition of the head roller on a bypass conveyor. While doing this his arm became entangled in the machinery and his arm was almost severed (HSE)
  2. A single employment court could be made to work, says legal profession – There are proposals within the employment law arena for a single employment court that would deal with all the employment claims currently heard by employment tribunals, the High Court and the County Court. The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) recently released its response to the idea (CIPD)
  3. London receptionist ‘sent home for not wearing heels’ – A London receptionist was sent home from work after refusing to wear high heels, it has emerged. Temp worker Nicola Thorp, 27, from Hackney, arrived at finance company PwC to be told she had to wear shoes with a “2in to 4in heel” (BBC)
  4. Pilot awarded £59,000 after being unfairly dismissed – A pilot has secured what is thought to the biggest-ever compensation award from a Manx employment tribunal after winning his claim for unfair dismissal. John Kayter Bean was awarded just under £60,000 after winning his case against the Private Jet Company (Isle of Man Today)
  5. Employer withdrew job offer due to sickness absence – An employment tribunal held that a nurse was the victim of discrimination arising from disability, after her prospective employer withdrew a job offer after seeing a record of previous absence (Personnel Today)
  6. Worker wins tribunal payout despite missing work for months – because he was in jail – A bakery firm has been ordered to hand over £650 to an employee who failed to turn up for work for months because he was in prison. Joseph Carter won an employment tribunal against Aulds Bakers for unfair dismissal after being jailed for dangerous driving and breach of peace (Herald Scotland)
  7. Law fails to offer protection for whistleblowers – The current protections available to whistleblowers in the UK are “inadequate and in need of significant reform”, a report released today (City AM)
  8. Blacklisted workers win £10m payout from construction firms – About £10m will be paid in compensation to more than 250 building workers who were “blacklisted” by some of Britain’s biggest construction firms under a settlement to be announced on Monday (The Guardian)
  9. Plastics manufacturer fined for death of worker – A plastics manufacturer from Cambridgeshire has been fined and given a suspended sentence after a worker died after he was crushed by printing machinery. Peterborough Crown Court heard how a 23-year-old agency worker from Lithuania was working in a print room for Gordon Leach, who trades as RGE Engineering Company (HSE)
  10. Sex discrimination victory for worker ‘forced into affair with boss’ – A former employee of software giant Wipro has won a wide-ranging sex discrimination case that included claims that she was forced into an affair with a senior leader. Shreya Ukil worked for the technology services business for around a decade in sales and market development roles. She alleged that she was subjected to a “deeply predatory, misogynistic culture” and had claimed £1.2 million in damages (CIPD)