Employment law stories in the news – 26.06.2017 to 02.07.2017

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 26 June and 2 July 2017

  1. Million pound fine for steel company after worker severely burnt following explosion – A 57-year-old man’s employer has been fined £1m after an oxygen pipe exploded in front of him. The Sheffield Forgemasters Engineering Limited (SFEL) worker suffered life changing injuries after the explosion on 9 August 2013 (HSE)
  2. West Yorkshire undercover police officers win damages totalling almost £100,000 – Two former undercover detectives with West Yorkshire Police have won damages approaching £100,000 after they were penalised for whistleblowing. Both officers, one of whom had almost 20 years’ experience, were moved to civilian desk jobs shortly after lodging complaints about management (The Huddersfield Daily)
  3. Glastonbury Festival accused of exploiting hundreds of European workers on zero hours contracts – Glastonbury Festival hired hundreds of workers from across Europe on zero hours contracts and then fired them after just two days (The Independent)
  4. Firm wins remittal of constructive dismissal claim from clerk – The Employment Appeal Tribunal has remitted a case involving a law firm employee who claimed to have been bullied and harassed. The claimant, referred to as Mr Z. Habib, had been a legal accounts clerk at the Southall office of west London firm Asghar & Co Solicitors, when he claimed to have been constructively dismissed in 2014 (The Law Society Gazette)
  5. Cyclists delivering emergency blood to NHS gain employment rights – Couriers carrying emergency blood supplies and delivering passports have won improved employment rights in an important concession for workers in the gig economy (The Guardian)
  6. UK’s ‘flourishing’ labour market must be allowed to thrive, says top adviser to Theresa May – Britain’s thriving jobs market is the “envy” of Europe and Theresa May must ensure any enhancement of workers’ rights protects flexible employment, according to the head of the prime minister’s review into modern work (The Telegraph)
  7. Discrimination claim against UKIP MEP Nathan Gill fails – A former employee of Nathan Gill has lost a claim of disability discrimination against the UKIP Wales MEP at an employment tribunal. Giving her verdict, Judge Claire Sharp said John Atkinson did not lose his job because of his disability (BBC)
  8. Dudley bus driver sacked for running red light wins unfair dismissal claim – Abdul Jabbar, 59, of Dudley, was sacked by National Express West Midlands in October 2015 after CCTV footage captured him running the light in King Street. But he sued, claiming the dismissal was totally over-the-top for one mistake in an unblemished career behind the wheel (The Express and Star)
  9. Swansea solicitor loses employment claim against legal aid firm – A Swansea solicitor who believed he had been ‘frozen out’ of his job following changes to his former law firm, has lost his employment claims – including one for age discrimination (The Solicitors Journal)
  10. Former BNP member and ‘democratic nationalist’ sees case against college hit setback – Former BNP politician turned art teacher Richard Barnbrook has hit a setback in his legal action against Bournemouth and Poole College (The Bournemouth Echo)