Employment tribunal cases in the news this week – 03.03.2014 to 09.03.2014

MoJIn the latest of our posts on employment tribunal cases in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment tribunal cases that have made the news between 3 March and 9 March 2014.

  1. ‘Boss threatened to stab me and dump my body at sea’: Claims made by deckhand awarded £16k compensation refuted by Grimsby firm – A whistleblower deck hand who told an inquiry he feared for his life sailing with a drunk crew member will receive £16,000 in compensation after being unfairly dismissed from his job. Dean Wilbourne-Kay, a deck hand and cook, took Grimsby firm Access Offshore Marine Limited to an employment tribunal this week (The Grimsby Telegraph)
  2. Tonbridge hospital whistleblower Amanda Pollard takes health watchdog to employment tribunal over job claims – A health inspector from Tonbridge who blew the whistle over the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal has launched a case of constructive dismissal against former employer the Care Quality Commission (The Courier)
  3. RM Condor labourer loses unfair dismissal case – A labourer at RM Condor whose contract was terminated because of ill-health after he suffered a stroke has lost his case for unfair dismissal. Michael Elliot of Cairnie Loan, Arbroath, believed he had managed all aspects of his job at the base for three years (The Courier)
  4. ‘Taxing’ lectures led to sacking, tribunal told – A former materials science lecturer at Imperial College London has claimed that low satisfaction scores resulting from her decision to stretch her students in classes ultimately led to her being dismissed. Yeong-Ah Soh is pursuing an employment tribunal claim for unfair dismissal, racial discrimination and suffering detriment for whistleblowing (The Times Higher Education)
  5. Employment Tribunal hears of power struggles and in-fighting at Tiverton Town Council – A power struggle at the heart of Tiverton Town Council between elected councillors and officers paralysed the workings of the council for months despite attempts at mediation, an employment tribunal has heard (The Mid Devon Gazette)
  6. Tribunal compensation for Polish labourer called a fenian – A labourer originally from Poland who was called a “fenian” and told to “go back to your country” has been awarded £55,000 by a fair employment tribunal. It found Daniel Brzezinski had suffered racial and religious discrimination and was unfairly dismissed (BBC)
  7. Ex-Alcan staff in pay battle after plant’s closure – Hundreds of ex-Alcan staff are in a battle to get a final pay-off from their former employers. Employment tribunal proceedings are believed to have been launched by the GMB Union on behalf of those who lost their jobs at Rio Tinto Alcan when the company closed the Lynemouth plant in early 2012 (The Morpeth Herald)
  8. Grangemouth dispute: Mark Lyon ‘likely’ to win unfair dismissal case – An interim employment tribunal has ruled in favour of a sacked convener at the Grangemouth refinery, his union has said. Mark Lyon is claiming unfair dismissal after being sacked by Ineos, which operates the site, in February (BBC)
  9. Former ABN Amro lawyer sues bank for racial discrimination – A former ABN Amro Group senior lawyer has brought a £300,000 case against the bank after claiming she was racially harassed and hounded out of her job. The Dutch banking giant’s former UK lawyer Angela Cobbina has turned to Withers partner Emma Sanderson for her case against UK ABN Amro chief executive Paul Schuilwerve (The Lawyer)
  10. Dismissed mother awarded £30,000 – A mother has been awarded over £30,000 by an employment tribunal which ruled she was unfairly dismissed for reporting an alleged rape by a work colleague at a works Christmas party. The Scots sales rep of the unidentified company was made redundant in August, 2012 and claimed it was because she had reported the alleged rape said to have occurred in Argyll, on December, 2011 (The Herald Scotland)