Employment law cases in the news – 09.02.2015 to 15.02.2015

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made the news between 9 February and 15 February 2015.

1. Tribunal rules obesity to be treated as disability after ex-Randox worker described as ‘so fat he would hardly feel a knife being stuck in him’ – A Belfast employment tribunal has found obese workers in Northern Ireland are entitled to the same protection as the disabled if they are subjected to humiliating, degrading or violating treatment (The Belfast Telegraph)
2. Librarians ‘should have had warning’, says employment tribunal – The National Library of Wales unfairly dismissed two members of staff when they should only have received a warning, an employment tribunal found. The full judgment in the case of Arwel Jones and Elwyn Williams has just been released following a verdict last year (BBC)
3. Equality Commission ‘must pay £8,000 for sex discrimination’ – A solicitor has been awarded £8,000 after she won a sex discrimination case against her employer, the Equality Commission. Elizabeth Kennedy was not allowed to return to her permanent job after she took a five-year career break (BBC)
4. Former St Neots town clerk wins claim for unfair dismissal against the town council – A judgement released yesterday (Monday) found in favour of Helen King’s claim for unfair dismissal following the conclusion of an employment tribunal at Huntingdon Law Courts in July last year. The town council stressed that the employment tribunal had rejected Mrs King’s arguments that she was dismissed as a result of a disability or because she was a whistle-blower (The Hunts Post)
5. Firms urged to tackle mental health discrimination after worker receives almost £40,000 payout – A worker at Scotland’s national tourism board has been awarded almost £40,000 by an employment tribunal after she was sacked following a period of sick leave for depression. Heather Aitken, a former team leader at a VisitScotland information centre in Edinburgh, was told by her bosses that she would only be allowed to return to work in a demoted position on a lower salary (Herald Scotland)
6. Met agrees final settlement in Carol Howard discrimination case – The Metropolitan Police has agreed a final settlement with an officer it discriminated against. Firearms officer Carol Howard, 35, was “singled out and targeted” for nearly a year, a panel ruled last year (BBC)
7. Receptionist ‘branded black slave by official at Qatari embassy’ hails ruling that embassy staff have same rights as Britons – A receptionist who was allegedly called a “black slave” by a senior official at the Qatari embassy in London today said he hopes “justice” will be done after a landmark court ruling gave foreign embassy staff the same rights as British workers (The Evening Standard)
8. Tribunal finds GMP victimised black police officer, leading to fresh claims of ‘institutional racism’ – Greater Manchester Police discriminated against and victimised a black police officer by failing to investigate his complaints of racism, an employment tribunal has ruled. Detective Constable Paul Bailey complained that he had been racially discriminated against when he was summarily ordered to return from a secondment at the North West Regional Crime Unit (The Manchester Evening News)
9. Nurse sacked after whistleblowing on colleagues – A nurse who was sacked after blowing the whistle on staff at a care home where an elderly patient is believed to have choked to death has been awarded more than £23,000 at an employment tribunal (Herald Scotland)
10. Devon undertaker’s discriminating desire to replace staff with ‘young fit blonde’ costs firm £44,000 – A bullying undertaker’s desire to have a ‘young fit blonde’ instead of an older member of staff has cost his family run firm £44,000. Jon Christophers told his company’s former female funeral director that he was going to replace an older female member of staff with a ‘young fit blonde’ (The Exeter Express & Echo)