Employment law cases in the news – 03.04.2017 to 09.04.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we examine ten employment law cases that have made headlines between 3 April 2017 and 9 April 2017

  1. Blind woman settles claim for £3,000 after claiming discrimination by a charity – A blind woman who claimed she was unfairly treated by a disability charity has been paid over £3,000 compensation in a private settlement. Tmara Senior claimed she felt intimidated in the way she was treated by able-bodied colleagues while working for Cloverleaf Advocacy in Dewsbury (The Huddersfield Daily Examiner)
  2. Electrician fined after apprentice left with life changing injuries – A Birmingham electrician has been ordered to carry out unpaid work in the community after his trainee fell three and a half metres through a plasterboard ceiling. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that the apprentice electrician, Soheil Afrapour, spent 23 days in hospital after suffering head injuries. He was installing wiring above the false ceiling for Mr Soheil Alipour (HSE)
  3. Suspended NHS carer is Nigerian chief vying to be future president – A carer suspended after allegedly falling asleep during a hospital night-shift is a Nigerian chief vying to become president of the West African nation. Chief Michael Idowu is also a leading barrister with 28 years experience. His lofty status came to light after the 51-year-old unsuccessfully attempted to take legal action against the NHS (Birmingham Mail)
  4. Supreme Court overturns Court of Appeal in Essop and Naeem cases – In Essop and ors v Home Office and Naeem v Secretary of State for Justice, the Supreme Court has given two important judgments on the scope of indirect discrimination. In Essop v Home Office the Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision that claimants were required to show the reason why the provision, criterion or practice (PCP) complained of put them at a particular disadvantage (ELAweb)
  5. Immigration officers who claim promotion tests are discriminatory set to sue Home Office – Black immigration officers struggled to pass promotion exams because the tests were racist, a court has heard . A group of 49 Home Office employees is now set to sue the Government over claims that the exams are discriminatory (The Telegraph)
  6. Two construction companies fined after worker suffers severe electric shock – BAM Construction Limited and Shoreland Projects Limited have been fined after a man suffered multiple life changing injuries including severe burns to his neck. Winchester Crown Court heard how BAM Construction Ltd had been appointed by Network Rail to construct a new railway operating centre in Basingstoke. BAM later appointed Shoreland Projects Ltd as the groundworks contractor for this project (HSE)
  7. BAE Systems: Sexist comment £360k payout ‘excessive’ – A £360,000 payout to a former secretary over a “single sexist comment” at work was “excessive”, a major firm has told an appeal. An Employment Tribunal had ruled Marion Konczak was unfairly dismissed from her job with BAE Systems in Lancashire (BBC)
  8. Solicitor fined after telling colleague he had ‘lost his marbles’ – A solicitor who sent a string of abusive messages as part of a long-running dispute with a colleague has been fined £2,000. Anup Shah, senior partner at Mayfair, London, practice CVS LLP, sent a consultant at the firm three emails which made reference to his age, religion and mental state (The Law Society Gazette)
  9. £25,000 for early termination of apprenticeship contract – An employment tribunal has awarded £25,000 for breach of contract to an employee whose apprenticeship was ended early (Personnel Today)
  10. A Whistleblower Who Was Fired For Objecting To Kids Watching A Video Of 9/11 Has Won A Legal Victory – A teaching assistant turned whistleblower has won a court battle over her dismissal from a Birmingham school after she was fired for objecting to a class of 11-year-olds watching a video showing people falling from the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 (Buzzfeed News)