Employment law stories in the news – 24.03.2014 to 30.03.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment law stories that have made the news between 24 March 2014 and 30 March 2014

  1. Nationwide Building Society ordered to reinstate sacked Montrose manager – The Nationwide Building Society has been ordered to reinstate a Tayside branch manager it unfairly sacked. An employment tribunal in Dundee ruled the Nationwide had “absolutely nothing” on which to base any conclusion that Claire Carnegie was guilty of fraud (The Courier)
  2. Partners cannot be treated as workers, Supreme Court hears – Partners cannot be treated as workers as it would mean firms would effectively be ‘contracting with theirselves’, the Supreme Court heard yesterday in a landmark employment appeal case (The Law Society Gazette)
  3. A former director of the Christie to sue after alleged bullying – A former director of Christie is suing the hospital alleging she was imprisoned in a room and bullied. Tracy Boylin, who was Human Resources Director at the world-renowned cancer treatment centre, claims she suffered personal injury as a result of the incident (The Manchester Evening News)
  4. Ex-school worker loses employment tribunal – A former Rishworth School employee has lost an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal against the school. Roy Pearson, 42, was sacked after an investigation led by the school bursar Joanne Clague found he had initiated an altercation between himself and his boss (The Halifax Courier)
  5. Nurse whistleblower Kevin Murray wins damages – A whistleblower has won undisclosed damages against a national nursing agency following an industrial tribunal in Belfast. Agency nurse Kevin Murray made allegations of abuse and neglect regarding a patient’s home care package (BBC)
  6. Hounslow Council ‘wastes’ £5.9 million on ‘unnecessary’ redundancy costs – Council accused of wasting money by spending £5.9 million above the statutory minimum on redundancy costs over the last five years. Hounslow Council has been accused of ‘wasting’ £5.9 million in five years on ‘unnecessary’ redundancy costs (Get West London)
  7. ‘Barriers’ stop fathers taking paternity leave – A lack of support from employers is preventing many men from taking paternity leave, a report has found. A survey of employees and managers found that a quarter of new fathers took no paternity leave at all (BBC)
  8. Landmark court case may shape legal protection for whistleblowers – A landmark case that could give legal protection to whistleblowers at law firms, hedge funds and accountants is to be heard by the UK’s highest court on Monday. The Supreme Court case relates to a dispute between lawyer Krista Bates van Winkelhof (Financial Times)
  9. Liverpool deputy headteacher claims she was unfairly sacked after giving elderly ex-pupil and daughter tour of school – A deputy headteacher was sacked after giving an elderly former pupil and her daughter a tour of her school, a tribunal heard. Julie Sherriff is claiming she was unfairly dismissed from Longview Community School in Huyton following the incident in September 2012 (The Liverpool Echo)
  10. Firm fined for workers’ injuries tackling fire – Two workers suffered burns, one seriously, when hot material from an industrial drier hit them as they tried to tackle a fire at a factory in South Wales, a court has heard (HSE)