Employment law stories in the news – 13.08.2018 to 19.08.2018

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 13 August 2018 and 19 August 2018

  1. Co-op director claims she was sacked over her equal pay concerns – A former HR director for the Co-op is suing the company after claiming she was sacked for raising concerns over equal pay within the business (The Telegraph)
  2. Trojan horse teacher called gays ‘animals’ – A deputy head teacher who said that gay people should be eradicated has lost his latest attempt to get his job back. Razwan Faraz’s claim for unfair dismissal has been thrown out by an employment judge. Mr Faraz had alleged that he was the victim of religious discrimination when he was sacked for making homophobic comments (The Times)
  3. Schoolgirl wins £15,000 damages after standing up to boss’s ‘humiliating behaviour and unwelcome sexual advances’ – A teenage schoolgirl who stood up to her boss in her first ever job at Pizza Hut has won £15,000 damages for sex harassment. The girl, who was 16 when she started, was sexually harassed, intimidated and had her hours cut after she rejected her supervisor’s advances (The Independent)
  4. Deputy head who wanted homosexuals ‘eradicated’ loses latest job bid – Razwan Faraz alleged he was the victim of religious discrimination when he was sacked for making homophobic comments but a fresh claim for unfair dismissal has been thrown out by an employment judge (The Express)
  5. Shell UK fined after technician struck by cylinder – Shell UK Limited has today been fined for health and safety breaches after a technician was struck by a cylinder and left severely injured on the Brent Delta offshore installation (HSE)
  6. British Airways cross case winner Nadia Eweida in fresh legal battle – A British Airways employee who won a landmark legal battle to wear a cross at work plans to launch fresh action against the airline. Nadia Eweida won a claim of religious discrimination after being sent home for wearing a silver crucifix around her neck (BBC)
  7. Woman who derided ‘knob head’ colleague in work emails was unfairly dismissed, EAT rules – An employee of a motorcycle manufacturer who was fired after she called one of her colleagues a ‘knob head’ over workplace email was unfairly dismissed, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld (People Management)
  8. East Yorkshire company fined after worker loses left arm – Transportation and storage company, H Walton Ltd, was sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker suffered injuries leading to the loss of his left arm (HSE)
  9. FCA probes RBC whistleblower processes after trader fired – The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is scrutinising whistleblower protections at Royal Bank of Canada, according to the Financial Times. The move comes after former trader John Banerjee won his case for unfair dismissal against the bank last month. The regulator has been made aware of at least five more potentially similar cases (CityWire)
  10. Disability group accuses HMRC of creating “uncertainty” over sleep-in care back pay – Voluntary Organisations Disability Group says the government’s latest letter to social care providers has caused confusion (Third Sector)