Employment law stories in the news – 30.12.2013 to 05.01.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news this week, we take a look at ten stories relating to employment law that have made the news between 30 December 2013 and 5 January 2014. This includes a council criticized for allegedly ‘wasting money’ on settling employment tribunal cases, a former radio DJ who has won a claim for unfair dismissal against his former employer, and a worker who has lost her claim for unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal

  1. Council criticised for wasting money after spending £1m on 69 employee settlement cases – A local authority has been accused of wasting money after spending more than £1million to settle disputes or contract obligations with 69 employees (EADT24)
  2. Golden goodbyes for bad teachers costing taxpayer thousands – Hundreds of under-performing school staff across the north of England have been given pay-offs to ease them out of their jobs in the past three years (The Daily Star)
  3. Mid West Radio in unfair dismissal case – Liam MacNally has won a case for unfair dismissal against his former employers Mid West Radio. MayoNews.ie reports a three member tribunal, chaired by Ann Marie Courell, do not accept that Mr MacNally was targeted ‘on account of any controversies that may have arisen from the carrying out of his journalistic duties’ (Radio Today)
  4. ‘Sick building’ worker loses claim for unfair dismissal – A personal assistant, who claimed flooding at the Office of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation caused her to collapse after an allergic reaction, has lost her appeal for unfair dismissal (This is Guernsey)
  5. Silent nights at choirless church in Wrexham – A choirmaster at the centre of bitter employment dispute said the Christmas period lost its sparkle after the choir fell silent. One of Wrexham’s biggest churches – St Giles’ Church – was without a formal robed choir for its Christmas services for the first time in years after the choir was suspended (New North Wales)
  6. Bank staff fired after exposing corrupt official – Ulster Bank fired a whistle-blower who lifted the lid on a senior official who took tens of thousands of euro to feed his addiction to gambling and luxury holidays, the Sunday Independent has learnt (The Irish Independent)
  7. Councils’ £5m bill for redundancy payouts – Nearly £5 million has been spent by cash-strapped councils on redundancy payouts for workers this year, it has been revealed (Express & Star)
  8. Longford cop’s bullying claim is thrown out by judge – A police officer has lost a tribunal after claiming he had been bullied for alleging slow police response times that led to the death of a young woman in Coventry (The Coventry Telegraph)
  9. 7,000 key NHS clinical staff made redundant amid enforced cuts – An “arbitrary” straitjacket on the NHS’s budget by Whitehall is leading to job losses, recruitment freezes and inadequate care for patients, the leader of the country’s doctors warns on Tuesday (The Guardian)
  10. Goldman Sachs top London staff received £2.7m pay deal on average in 2012 – Senior staff at Goldman Sachs in London received average pay deals of £2.7m in 2012 – a 50% rise on 2011 – the company disclosed on Monday, shedding fresh light on the rewards on offer in the City as Brussels prepares to impose a cap on bonuses (HITC Business)