Employment law stories in the news – 13.06.2016 to 19.06.2016

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 the stories between 13 June and 19 June 2016

1. McKie fingerprint expert wins dismissal case at Supreme Court – A fingerprint officer who was sacked over the Shirley McKie scandal has won her case for unfair dismissal.
   Fiona McBride was one of four experts who said a fingerprint at a crime scene was that of police officer, Ms McKie (BBC)
2. Christian teenager burnt by colleagues and strapped to cross – An apprentice shopfitter was tied to a makeshift crucifix, drawn on, and burnt by an ignited aerosol in what his colleagues, on trial for assault, dismissed as a series of workplace pranks. On 13 June, York Crown Court heard how four men undertook a sustained campaign of bullying against their teenage colleague from July 2014 and April 2015 (Personnel Today)
3. Pride of ‘vindicated’ Starbucks employee at helping others with dyslexia – When Starbucks employee Meseret Kumulchew claimed the coffee behemoth had discriminated against her for making mistakes due to a learning disability and took her case to an employment tribunal last year she faced a David and Goliath battle for justice (Inews)
4. Worker suffers serious injury from contact with overhead power line – A stonemasonry company in Perth has been fined after an apprentice stonemason was seriously injured from contact with an overhead power line. Perth Sheriff Court heard how 20 year old apprentice Rodd McFarlane was working for T& M Stonemasonry, carrying out repairs at Waulkmill Cottage in Perth (HSE)
5. Charged to take your boss to court: Employment tribunal fees ‘will deny workers justice’ – Workers unfairly dismissed by their employers are being denied access to justice because of new Government court fees, a cross party committee of MPs has warned. Since the new employment tribunal fees were introduced in 2013 there has been a “precipitate drop” of almost 70 per cent in the number of cases being brought, the Commons Justice committee said (The Independent)
6. TUPE transfers and long-term sick leave: appeal confirmed – A senior judge has granted permission for the TUPE case BT Managed Services Ltd v Edwards and another to go to a full Court of Appeal hearing. The case examines whether or not an employee on indefinite sick leave, but retained in employment, transfers under TUPE (Personnel Today)
7. Worker sacked over claims he refused to speak English – A car worker from Birmingham has taken legal action after alleging he was sacked for snubbing a company email ordering staff to speak English. Raj Rangla, who speaks fluent English and Punjabi, claims he was given his marching orders for failing to co-operate with the edict from Trust Group UK, based in Aston (ITV)
8. BT fined £500,000 after engineer breaks his back in fall – British Telecom plc (BT) has been fined £500,000 after an engineer fell seven metres from a loft in London, breaking his back and his ankles. The Old Bailey heard how a BT engineer, David Spurgeon, was fixing a telephone fault in the roof void of a residential block of flats in Tower Hamlets, East London (HSE)