Employment law stories in the news – 22.06.2015 to 28.06.2015

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 have made the news between 22 June and 28 June 2015

  1. Man breaks legs at dance academy in lift shaft fall – The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has been sentenced after a member of the public fell into a vacant lift shaft. Mr Hector Maclean, 23, fell into a vacant lift shaft after leaning on a set of double doors at street level (HSE)
  2. Charity chief to take former employers to tribunal – An Aberdeen children’s charity is being taken to an employment tribunal amid claims by a former boss that her dismissal was “substantively and procedurally unfair”. Karen Farquhar-Marr, who was chief executive of Befriend a Child until February, has revealed she is taking legal action against her former employers, accusing them of taking the decision to terminate her employment “at any cost” (Press and Journal)
  3. Consultant at the Royal Sussex County Hospital fired after ‘racist’ comments – A senior doctor has been sacked by an NHS trust for making allegedly racist comments about doctors on his team. Peter Hale was dismissed from his post as a consultant surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton for gross misconduct after making allegedly discriminatory comments during a staff meeting (The Argus)
  4. Dismissal was unfair, but academic sparked it himself – A former Queen Mary University of London academic was unfairly dismissed but contributed “100 per cent” to his demise because he disobeyed a direct management instruction to teach a course, an employment tribunal has ruled. John Allen, formerly professor of biochemistry at Queen Mary, was sacked in May 2014 after a turbulent two years that began with his co-authorship of a letter to medical journal The Lancet (The Times Higher Education)
  5. Creche employee awarded €22,224 for unfair dismissal – A Mayo creche worker who was sacked has been awarded €22,224 by an Employment Appeals Tribunal following hearings in Castlebar. Helena Harrington had been working for Charlestown Community Childcare Limited, T/A Happy Feet Creche and Preschool, in July 2012, when she became involved in the alleged conflict which led to her dismissal (The Connaught Telegraph)
  6. Payout for Telford nurse after unfair dismissal case – A nurse is set to net a “five-figure” compensation fee after an employment tribunal judge ruled she had been unfairly dismissed by a county military charity. Delia Robinson, from St Georges in Telford, has spoken for the first time of her delight and relief after it was ruled bosses at Newport-based Combat Stress were wrong to sack her in 2012 after a period of suspension on full pay (The Shropshire Star)
  7. Sacked RSA boss in Ireland awarded €1.25m by tribunal – The former chief executive of RSA Insurance’s troubled Irish business has been awarded €1.25m (£900,000) by an employment tribunal almost two years after he quit the company. Philip Smith had claimed he was the “fall guy” for problems in the unit, which has been in the spotlight since a £200m black hole was discovered in its accounts in late 2013 (The Independent)
  8. London firm fined after worker injured in fall – A London firm specialising in bespoke staircases has been sentenced for safety failings after a worker was injured when the personnel cage he was working in was knocked to the ground by an overhead crane (HSE)
  9. Charity fundraiser: Boss told me to have an abortion – A mother has told how her boss encouraged her to have an abortion when she told him she was pregnant, then sacked her when she refused. Teri Cumlin, a former team leader with Engage Fundraising, was subjected to a catalogue of abuse and harassment by manager Mark Robertson throughout her pregnancy (Herald Scotland)
  10. Norbert Dentressangle pays worker £8,000 for unfair dismissal – It has emerged that Norbert Dentressangle, taken over last month by US firm XPO Logistics, was ordered in March to pay a former employee more than £8,000 for unfair dismissal, after sacking him last year for what his employer deemed was a sexually suggestive picture posted on his Facebook page (Motor Transport.co.uk)