Employment law stories in the news – 26.09.2016 to 02.10.2016

redmans-blog-newsIn 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 September 2016 and 2 October 2016

  1. Alton Towers’ owners fined £5million over Smiler crash – The owners of Alton Towers have been fined £5million with costs of £69,955.40 following a rollercoaster collision which left 16 people injured, a number of them seriously. Two young women on the Smiler ride suffered leg amputations and others suffered severe injuries when their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track on 2 June 2015 (HSE)
  2. EasyJet cabin crew win landmark case on breastfeeding – Companies may have to make better arrangements for female staff who are breastfeeding, including changing their hours, after a “groundbreaking” tribunal ruling. EasyJet discriminated against two cabin crew members, Sara Ambacher and Cynthia McFarlane, by failing to let them work shorter shifts, a judge ruled (The Times)
  3. Theresa May orders review of employment law as labour market changes – Theresa May has ordered a review of employment practices, saying she wanted to ensure workers’ rights were protected under changing business models and a growing trend towards flexible or self-employment (The Telegraph)
  4. Government caps public sector payoffs – The government has revealed plans to curb public sector payoffs at £95,000, a move that could have implications for judges in England and Wales, as well as in-house lawyers. In a consultation response published today, the Treasury said it would ‘end six-figure payments’ for redundancy and other exit payments (The Law Society Gazette)
  5. Women poorly represented in top 1% of UK earners, study finds – Fewer than one in five of the UK’s top 1% of earners are women, according to a study that highlights a stubborn gender divide among the super-rich. Researchers writing for the London School of Economics found the UK picture was replicated in all seven other countries they studied, with men always making up a majority of the top income groups (The Guardian)
  6. BMA accused of ‘toothless omnishambles’ over strike tactics – The British Medical Association is facing a backlash from furious junior doctors over its decision to scrap a series of crippling strikes. Angry medics who backed five day walkouts have turned on the union, calling it “toothless” and accusing it of presiding over an “omnishambles” in its handling of the long-running industrial dispute (The Telegraph)
  7. John McDonnell announces £10 an hour living wage plan – John McDonnell has laid out Labour’s economic plans, announcing a “radically fairer” programme that includes an independently set national living wage likely to be above £10 an hour by 2020 (The Guardian)
  8. HSE issues MOD with Crown Censure over soldier death – The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been issued with a Crown Censure by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a soldier died when he was shot in the neck on a training exercise (HSE)
  9. Labour promises manifesto pledge on legal aid – A future Labour government would increase legal aid spending and abolish employment tribunal fees, the party’s justice chief has promised. Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said the party would scrap the fees introduced in 2013 which have been blamed for a 70% fall in employment claims (The Law Society Gazette)
  10. England’s football authorities will use ‘full force’ to probe alleged corruption – English football authorities have pledged to probe corruption claims made in a Daily Telegraph investigation with “full force”. The Daily Telegraph claimed that eight current or ex-Premier League managers had taken bribes for player transfers (BBC)