Employment law stories in the news – 06.02.2017 to 12.02.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at eight employment law stories that have made headlines between 6 February and 12 February 2017

  1. Pimlico Plumbers loses appeal against self-employed status – Pimlico Plumbers has lost a court battle over the status of its workers, in the latest legal ruling on employment status in the gig economy. It came as the government released a report warning that “unscrupulous” employers were in a position to exploit low-paid and low-skilled workers (The Guardian)
  2. Recycling company fined after worker crushed – A recycling firm has been fined after a worker suffered crush injuries from a roller shutter door. Newport Magistrates’ Court heard how a Recresco Limited employee was injured when the door’s roller barrel fell on him resulting in three cracked ribs and a damaged spleen, causing him to miss eight weeks of work (HSE)
  3. Recruiters warned against using new tribunal database to ‘screen’ candidates – Recruiters have been urged to exercise extreme caution should they use the government’s new online database of employment tribunal decisions to screen candidates (The Recruiter)
  4. Employment tribunal decisions now online – A new webpage listing employment tribunal decisions has been launched on the gov.uk website. The webpage allows the public to search for first-instance judgments from England, Wales and Scotland using drop-down menus and a free-text search (Personnel Today)
  5. Survey reveals UK judges’ concerns over pay and safety – Almost half of all high court judges plan to leave the bench early, according to a survey that exposes widespread resentment among the judiciary over loss of earnings, deteriorating working conditions and fears for their personal safety in court (The Guardian)
  6. Unpaid tribunal awards: enforcement officers recover thousands – Enforcement officers have recovered thousands of pounds from employers that have not coughed up after losing an employment tribunal, according to figures from the Government (Personnel Today)
  7. Unmarried woman wins pension battle – A woman whose long-term partner died has won a legal battle that is likely to improve the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector. Denise Brewster, who was denied payments from her late partner’s occupational pension, argued that she was the victim of “serious discrimination” (BBC)
  8. Building Contractor fined after workers fatal fall – A Manchester building contractor has been jailed following the death of a casual labourer who fell nearly seven metres through a fragile roof. The 45-year-old labourer from Manchester had been carrying out repair work at Witney Mill, Manchester when the incident occurred on 23 November 2013 (HSE)