Employment law stories in the news – 27.11.2017 to 03.12.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news we examine ten employment law stories that have made headlines between 27 November and 3 December 2017

  1. Recycling company fined after worker loses arm – A plastic recycling company director has received a 10 week prison sentence after a worker’s arm was amputated. Wrexham Magistrates’ Court heard how a Clark Technologies Wales Ltd employee was injured whilst he was cleaning out the plastic washing plant at their recycling facility on Deva Industrial Park, Deeside (HSE)
  2. EU’s top court rules workers can claim compensation for untaken holidays – Workers are entitled to paid leave and can claim compensation if they are not allowed to take their holidays, the EU’s highest court has ruled. In a case involving a UK window salesman, the European court of justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg – whose continuing jurisdiction is vehemently opposed by Brexiters – has reinforced employees’ rights (The Guardian)
  3. Employee sacked for wearing headphones was unfairly dismissed – An employee working in a supermarket’s delivery yard was unfairly dismissed for wearing headphones, an employment tribunal has ruled, despite finding that the incident was serious (People Management)
  4. Northbay Pelagic to pay Anderson £50k over unfair dismissal – Scotland’s Northbay Pelagic has been ordered to pay £50,748 to its former director, Colin Anderson, after a Scottish employment tribunal ruled he had been unfairly dismissed (Undercurrent News)
  5. Manager was unfairly dismissed after being blamed for financial loss  – Employer should not have hired HR consultant to conduct part of ‘lamentably deficient’ disciplinary process, tribunal finds (CIPD)
  6. British Airways worker ‘drew stickman cartoon of his boss hanging from a noose’ – but claims it was a tribute to WWE wrestler The Undertaker – A Britsh Airways worker accused of drawing a cartoon of his boss hanging from a noose claimed it was a tribute to WWE wrestler The Undertaker, a tribunal heard (The Sun)
  7. Company fined after worker suffers electric shock – A North East company, Green North East Trading Bidco Limited, was sentenced today after a sub-contractor suffered an electric shock when he cut through a live cable (HSE)
  8. Man sues Xactly bosses he claims called him ‘fat Yoda’ and fired him – A salesman is suing a top US tech company for race and disability discrimination after bosses and colleagues dubbed him a dwarf – and a ‘fat ginger pikey.’ Sales representative David Evans claims he was also called a ‘salad dodger’ by senior managers during his time as a salesman with the technology giant (Metro)
  9. Jewish teacher fired from nursery for cohabiting wins discrimination claim – A Jewish teacher has won her claim of discrimination against an Orthodox nursery in London which fired her after learning she was living with her boyfriend (The Jewish Chronicle)
  10. Uber petitions a ‘leapfrog’ appeal to the Supreme Court – Uber petitions a ‘leapfrog’ appeal to the Supreme Court over the EAT’s decision to uphold an Employment Tribunal’s decision that Uber drivers are ‘workers’ (Lexology)