Employment law stories in the news – 11.02.2019 to 17.02.2019

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 11 February 2019 and 17 February 2019

  1. Construction firms fined after worker suffers fatal fall – Oliver Connell and Son Ltd and Rydon Construction Ltd have been fined after a worker fell to his death when a temporary platform collapsed (HSE)
  2. Prison officer, 40, whose colleagues coloured his work bag pink and called him ‘vermin’ after he told boss he was bisexual wins unfair dismissal case – A bisexual prison officer who was called a ‘p**f’ by his colleagues and forced to carry a pink bag to work has won his unfair dismissal case (The Daily Mail)
  3. Morrisons faces women’s equal pay action – Supermarket giant Morrisons is facing legal action by women who work in its stores. The women, both current and former employees, say they are not paid the same as male workers who are doing comparable jobs (BBC)
  4. Mencap sleep-in case to be heard in Supreme Court – Mencap has said the care sector has been “plunged back into uncertainty” after the Supreme Court announced it will hear an appeal against a landmark ruling made in favour of the charity (Civil Society)
  5. Ex-analyst sues Goldman Sachs after losing job ‘because of ADD’ – A former Goldman Sachs analyst who claims he lost his job because of his attention deficit disorder is suing the bank for disability discrimination (The Evening Standard)
  6. I was sacked for having MS, woman tells tribunal – A mother who claims a cosmetic company sacked her because she has multiple sclerosis broke down in tears as she told an employment tribunal she was scared she would not get the job because of it (Herald Scotland)
  7. Orthodox nursery that sacked teacher for living with her boyfriend wins appeal against religious discrimination – A strictly Orthodox kindergarten in London that sacked a Jewish teacher who revealed she lived with her boyfriend has won its appeal against religious discrimination (The Jewish Chronicle)
  8. Employee, 27, reveals how her boss, 50, told her he ‘knew more about sex’ than she did, a tribunal has heard – Nathalie Abildgaard claims her former boss Frederic Michel-Verdier told her ‘you do not understand, I’m so much older than you. I know more about sex. I can teach you a lot of things’ (The Sun)
  9. Mechanic who had heart attack after altercation at work was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules – A mechanic who suffered a heart attack after an altercation at work was unfairly dismissed following a dispute about his return to work, a tribunal has ruled (People Management)
  10. Acas delays increase employment tribunal hearings – Delays by the government’s independent conciliation body leave businesses with only two weeks to settle disputes and risk ramping up costs, lawyers have claimed (The Times)