Employment tribunal cases in the news this week – 13.01.2014 to 19.01.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news this week, we take a look at eight employment tribunal cases that have made the headlines between 13 January 2014 and 19 January 2014. This includes a dismissed ambulance worker who claims that she suffered bullying at work, a Cumbrian woman who has won her Employment Tribunal claim for discrimination, and a TV presenter who has won her claim for sexual harassment in the Employment Tribunal

  1. Dismissed ambulance worker ‘suffered bullying’ – An ambulance service worker has claimed she was working in a “hostile environment” and suffered bullying. Isabel Blyth has taken the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to an employment tribunal after being dismissed for gross misconduct (The Scotsman)
  2. Cumbria hotel discriminated against mother-to-be – A Cumbria mum is celebrating being awarded more than £9,000 in compensation after a tribunal ruled her workplace discriminated against her when she became pregnant (The North-West Evening Mail)
  3. Wrexham church choir row: ex-director Jacqui Blore is claiming unfair dismissal after losing her job – An historic Welsh church will be at the centre of an industrial tribunal after its choir director was axed. Jacqui Blore is claiming breach of contract and unfair dismissal after losing her job at St Giles Church in Wrexham (The Daily Post)
  4. National Express Dundee bus driver was fairly sacked for ‘completely outrageous’ gestures to woman motorist – A Dundee bus driver who made rude gestures at a female motorist was fairly sacked. An employment tribunal has ruled that the dismissal of Ross McMahon was within the range of reasonable responses by National Express Dundee (The Courier)
  5. Lesbian animal charity chief ‘sacked £80,000 male executive who had affair with her bisexual lover’ – The lesbian boss of an animal charity has been accused of sacking a senior director after he started a relationship with her bisexual lover. Blue Cross chief executive Kim Hamilton faces claims she forced out the head of fundraising after finding out he was in a relationship with secretary Melanie Brown (The Mail Online)
  6. Driver’s constructive dismissal claim rejected – A Kidderminster vehicle recovery firm has successfully defended a legal claim of constructive unfair dismissal by a former employee. Birmingham Employment Tribunal judge Stan Britton also declared that Auto Support, of Matthew Lane, Hoo Farm Industrial Estate, Kidderminster did not make unauthorised deductions from the wages of driver Ian Greaves as alleged by him at a previous tribunal hearing (The Shuttle)
  7. Chief executive of Torbay Hospital appointed boyfriend of daughter claim – The chief executive of Torbay Hospital has been implicated in a bitter whistleblower dispute with allegations she showed favouritism when appointing a senior manager, an employment tribunal has heard (The Torquay Herald Express)
  8. TV presenter was sexually harassed but not unfairly dismissed – A TV who alleged she was called offensive, sexual names on her earpiece as a “distraction joke” by her camera crew as she conducted a live TV show, responded with a finger gesture – and was later sacked (The Redditch & Alcester Advertiser)