Employment law stories in the news – 23.03.2015 to 29.03.2015

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 23 March and 29 March 2015.

  1. Shell demands longer hours as it cuts more North Sea jobs – Shell is taking the axe to its North Sea workforce for the second time in less than a year and calling on its remaining offshore employees to work six extra weeks a year for the same pay (The Times)
  2. FCA whistleblowing reports up by 44% – The FCA received 44 per cent more whistleblowing reports last year than in 2013, data obtained by law firm Pinsent Masons reveals. The data shows the FCA opened 1,367 cases in 2014, up from 948 in 2013 and from 565 in 2012 (Money Marketing)
  3. More firms failing to pay minimum wage are named – Ministers have publicly named 48 employers including French Connection and Foot Locker that have paid their workers less than the minimum wage. The companies owe workers £162,000 and face fines of £67,000 (BBC)
  4. Engineer in court after worker crushed to death on pier – An engineering boss has been sentenced after an employee was crushed to death on a pier in Orkney. Welder and fabricator Christopher Hartley, 45, from Thurso, died after being struck by a moving excavator and crushed between its bucket and a fixed cabinet at the end of Longhope Pier in Hoy on 13 November 2012 (HSE)
  5. City Link broke law over job cuts: Courier firm failed to hold consultation period when it made more than 2,500 people redundant –  The courier firm City Link broke the law when it went bust over Christmas – but it can only be fined a maximum of £5,000. MPs investigating the collapse say today it ‘is clearly in the financial interest of a company to break the law’ (The Daily Mail)
  6. Employers told to factor commission into holiday pay – Employers must take account of commission payments when they calculate holiday pay for their staff, according to a legal ruling by an employment tribunal that will push up some companies’ wage bills (The Financial Times)
  7. Materials company prosecuted for worker’s crush injury – A global materials company has been fined after a maintenance engineer’s hand was crushed at its West Midlands factory. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday (20 March) heard that the 40-year-old worker from Stourbridge was removing chocks from the bed of a plate saw when the incident happened at ThyssenKrupp (Materials) UK Ltd’s site in Tyseley on 9 July 2014 (HSE)
  8. Citizens Advice: Workers are being priced out of justice – Thousands of Scots are being prevented from challenging rogue employers due to the introduction of controversial employment tribunal fees, according to new research. A report by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) and Strathclyde University claims the charges are deterring people from fighting for their rights in cases where they may have been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against (Herald Scotland)
  9. Sports Direct: tribunal threat over ‘dodgy’ USC redundancies – Sports Direct ignored repeated attempts by administrators to consult with staff who lost their jobs in the “dodgy” collapse of its fashion brand USC, and could potentially face employment tribunals for not giving workers enough notice (The Independent)
  10. Unite prepared to carry out illegal strikes if Tories win election – Unite, one of Britain’s biggest unions, has said that it is prepared to carry out illegal strikes if the Conservatives win the General Election. Len McCluskey, the Unite General Secretary, said that he is so concerned that a majority Tory government will bring in anti-strike legislation that the union is prepared to remove the words “so far as may be lawful” from its rule book (The Telegraph)