Employment law stories in the news – 06.06.2016 to 12.06.2016

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at ten employment law stories that made headlines between 6 June 2016 and 12 June 2016

  1. Met officer wins sex discrimination case after towel incident – A respected police officer has won a sex discrimination case against the Metropolitan Police after he was “unlawfully punished” by a female officer following an incident involving a towel (The Independent)
  2. David Cameron rejects calls to ban zero-hours contracts – David Cameron has rejected fresh calls to ban all zero-hours contracts amid anger over Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley’s admission he paid workers below the minimum wage (Herald Scotland)
  3. Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley ‘will go before MPs – Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley says he will now go before MPs to defend the firm’s “good name”. It reverses the billionaire’s previous decision not to appear before the Business, Innovation and Skills select committee on Tuesday to answer questions on working conditions (BBC)
  4. Corby man sacked for ‘weightlifting in work time’ loses tribunal hearing – A Corby former area manager complained he was unfairly sacked by his firm after denying visits to a weightlifting gym affected his “availability for work”. Keen weightlifter Antony Price, of Priors Hall Park, had been employed as an area manager for five years by Kelly Communications Ltd, which has numerous branches in the UK (Northants Telegraph)
  5. Firm fined after three employees overcome by fumes – A food waste disposal and recycling firm has been fined £250,000 after three employees were overcome by toxic gases, including hydrogen sulphide, and a reduced oxygen atmosphere in an animal waste facility in Stoke-on-Trent (HSE)
  6. Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro settles dismissal case – Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has settled her dismissal claim against the club on confidential terms. Dr Carneiro, who claimed constructive dismissal against Chelsea, also reached a discrimination settlement against the club’s former manager Jose Mourinho (BBC)
  7. Court finds UK gangmaster liable for modern slavery victims – A British company has been found liable for the first time for victims of modern slavery in a landmark high court judgment. The judge, Justice Supperstone, found in favour of six Lithuanian men who were trafficked to the UK and brought a civil case claiming compensation for being severely exploited by the Kent-based gangmaster firm that employed them, DJ Houghton Chicken Catching Services (The Guardian)
  8. Motor vehicle repair company fined after work experience student crushed by vehicle – A motor vehicle repair company was fined after a 27 year old man gaining work experience at the garage, was crushed to death by a vehicle. Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard on 20 December 2014, Muhammed Zohaib Yasin, had been working at, Just Mercedes Limited, watching another employee carry out repair work on a Vauxhall Corsa (HSE)
  9. Nearly one in six workers in England and Wales in insecure work – Four-and-a-half million people in England and Wales are in insecure work, according to research by Citizens Advice, which has warned too much focus on boosting pay risks ignoring the problem of unpredictable incomes for many households (The Guardian)
  10. Sports Direct ‘Better Than Unions For Workers’ – The boss of Sports Direct has admitted to MPs that there are “issues” with working practices at the retailer, but added that the firm was better at looking after staff than trade unions (Sky News)