Employment law stories in the news – 17.07.2017 to 23.07.2017

In 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 17 July 2017 and 23 July 2017:

  1. HMCTS turns in £100m civil justice ‘surplus’ as fees add up – Fee income from civil courts reached almost £800m in the last financial year, new figures have revealed (The Law Society Gazette)
  2. Coach building company fined after an apprentice fell from height – A Warrington based coach fabricator has appeared in court after an apprentice suffered serious injuries when he fell through a roof he was working on (HSE)
  3. Recruitment of black and Asian judges too slow – lord chief justice – The most senior judge in England and Wales has expressed concern about the slow recruitment of black, Asian and minority ethnic minority (BAME) judges in England and Wales (The Guardian)
  4. Tribunal orders Scottish Refugee Council to pay two former staff £27,000 – A Glasgow employment tribunal found the charity had unfairly dismissed two former refugee integration advisers (Third Sector)
  5. Top hospital consultant claims NHS spent £1million fighting him after he turned whistleblower – A top consultant claims the NHS spent £1million fighting him after he tried to turn whistleblower. Neurosurgeon James Akinwunmi says his marriage collapsed and his kids were estranged as he battled to expose failings at his hospital (The Mirror)
  6. Pay row threatens overnight care for vulnerable – Vulnerable people with learning difficulties could lose overnight supervision, disability charity Mencap warns. The HMRC has ruled carers sleeping overnight to provide safety and reassurance should be be paid the national minimum wage for all hours (BBC)
  7. Firm fined £5k for breaking workplace pensions rules – A London firm has been publicly named on a list of employers penalised over workplace pension non-compliance. Rider Support Solicitors, a motorcycle claims specialist based in Putney, was fined £5,000 after failing to meet its automatic enrolment responsibilities (The Law Society Gazette)
  8. HMRC demand ‘could bankrupt learning disability care providers’ – Enforcement action by HM Revenue & Customs threatens to bankrupt providers of learning disability care, the Royal Mencap Society charity has said (Public Finance)
  9. Prison officers permanently banned from striking after Government wins High Court bid – The Government has won its High Court bid to obtain a permanent ban on industrial action by prison officers, in a move unionists have warned will leave “only a matter of time” before a member of staff gets killed (The Independent)
  10. Ten female presenters considering suing BBC over pay dispute – At least ten female BBC presenters will consider legal action against the BBC if the corporation does not close the gender pay gap, in a revolt by women who did not appear on the £150,000 list (The Telegraph)