Employment law stories in the news – 12.11.2018 to 18.11.2018

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 12 November 2018 and 18 November 2018

  1. Judge takes appeal to be recognised as ‘worker’ to the Supreme Court – A judge who is attempting to be recognised as a “worker”, therefore entitling her to certain employment rights, is taking her appeal to the Supreme Court. Judge Claire Gilham is appealing against the decision that judges are not workers and therefore do not benefit from whistleblowing protection and other rights such as minimum holiday allowance and rest breaks (Personnel Today)
  2. Morrisons employees lodge claims over equal pay – The first batch of claims against UK supermarket Morrisons over equal pay for store workers has been lodged with the Employment Tribunal, law firm Leigh Day said in a statement on Tuesday (The Financial Times)
  3. Carpenter accused of saying gay people were his ‘pet hate’ wins unfair dismissal claim – An established carpenter fired after being accused of describing gay people as his “pet hate” has won an unfair dismissal claim. Howell Wyn Christie was sacked by after an anonymous complainant claimed he had made homophobic remarks (Wales Online)
  4. Addison Lee loses appeal on worker rights – A claim that Addison Lee’s drivers are employees, not self-employed contractors, has been upheld in a major blow to the taxi company. The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling confirms that drivers should be paid the minimum wage and holiday pay (BBC)
  5. Former Co-op executive wins her equal pay and unfair dismissal claims – A former executive at the Co-operative Group has won her equal pay and unfair dismissal claims against the company. Sam Walker, a company director in charge of HR, argued that she was dismissed after raising issues about her own pay and warning leading figures in the company that it could be paying men and women at a different rate for the same roles (The Guardian)
  6. Dyeing company causes serious injuries to employees in two separate incidents – A dyeing company has been sentenced today for safety breaches after two separate incidents caused serious injuries to employees (HSE)
  7. Lobby group admits unlawful whistleblower dismissal – A major right-of-centre lobby group linked to a network of Brexit campaigners has admitted illegally sacking the whistleblower who first revealed allegations of unlawful referendum campaign spending (BBC)
  8. Flybe pilot who was fired after developing a fear of flying when a promotion left him anxious and suffering ‘panic attacks’ wins claim for unfair dismissal – A Flybe pilot who was fired after developing a fear of flying has won a claim for unfair dismissal despite having difficulty flying for the past four years (The Daily Mail)
  9. Leeds company fined after workers health put at risk – Furnace relining company, Calderys UK Ltd, has today been sentenced for failing to control exposure to both vibration and silica for its workers (HSE)
  10. Police officer tells tribunal that ban on facial hair is ‘unfair’ – A police officer would need “a moustache like a walrus” to stop a breathing mask working properly, an expert has told a tribunal in Belfast (The Belfast Telegraph)