Employment tribunal cases in the news – 17.11.2014 to 23.11.2014

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 cases that have made headlines between 17.11.2014 and 23.11.2014

  1. Property developer and builder in court over death at construction site – A Middlesex property development firm and a Buckinghamshire contractor have been ordered to pay a total of over £180,000 for safety failings after a worker was killed whilst driving a dumper truck during construction works at a former military base in Buckinghamshire (HSE)
  2. Shop worker tells tribunal colleagues victimised her for love of Ferrero Rocher chocolates – A shop assistant has told a tribunal that her work colleagues made her life a misery by taunting her about her love for Ferrero Rocher chocolates. Angela Connolly was sacked from the Brierley Hill branch of B&M Bargains after she bought an apron for 10p which should have cost £3.99 (The Birmingham Mail)
  3. Canal worker sacked after drinking boast wins his case – David Smith claimed the posts were “banter” and a “joke”, but bosses at Scottish Canals dismissed him after taking the view that he had been consuming alcohol. The 34-year-old, of Lambhill, Glasgow, who believed his online account was private, also posted abusive messages about his supervisors, calling them w*****s and p****s (Herald Scotland)
  4. Nottingham Forest settle David Kelly unpaid bonus case – Nottingham Forest has settled a legal dispute with one of its former coaches over alleged unpaid bonuses and for breach of contract. David Kelly, 48, who has played for Wolves, Leicester City and Newcastle, was sacked by the club in March (BBC)
  5. Oxford college tutor collapses as boss gives evidence at employment tribunal hearing – An Oxford science tutor collapsed as he heard his manager give evidence against a sacked colleague at an employment tribunal. David Hillman was so upset he staggered across the room and crashed to the floor, clutching his chest and complaining of heart palpitations (The Oxford Mail)
  6. Compass Group whistleblower case to be heard in UK – A whistleblower who was sacked last year by a subsidiary of the FTSE 100 caterer Compass Group after making repeated allegations of corruption has won the right to have his employment tribunal heard in the UK (HITC Business)
  7. £49K pay-out for former teacher who was pressured to resign from Leicester school – A former teacher at a city primary school has been awarded just over £49,000 by an employment tribunal for constructive and unfair dismissal. Samina Randall brought the case against Shaftesbury Junior School, in Latimer Street, West End, and Leicester City Council following her resignation from the school in August last year (The Leicester Mercury)
  8. Nortel: Redundant workers ‘entitled to £50k for unfair dismissal’ – Staff who lost their jobs at the Nortel factory in County Antrim, are entitled to unfair dismissal payments of more than £50,000, a tribunal has ruled. It follows a test case brought by a worker who claimed the Canadian firm failed to properly consult with each employee before making them redundant (BBC)
  9. Qatari embassy receptionist ‘called a black slave’ at work seeks £100,000 damages – A receptionist who was allegedly called a “black slave” and hit by a senior official at the Qatari embassy in Mayfair in a campaign of racial bullying says he is seeking £100,000 in damages because he fears he may never work again (The Evening Standard)
  10. Unguarded danger at East Yorkshire firm – A chemical company in East Yorkshire has been prosecuted after an employee lost the ends of three fingers in an unguarded part of a machine collecting calcium oxide dust. The 51-year-old worker was attempting to adjust a bag that was capturing the chemical dust below a collection unit at Omya UK Ltd when his left hand slipped and came into contact with a shear point created by a rotating valve (HSE)