Employment law stories in the news – 31.08.2015 to 06.09.2015

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 headlines between 31 August and 6 September 2015

  1. Fawcett Society: government must take action to address gender pay gap – Women are angry and no longer willing to tolerate the slow rate of change in addressing the gender pay gap in the UK, according to the head of a major women’s organisation (The Guardian)
  2. Recycling firm sentenced over safety failing after death of father of six – A waste recycling firm has been sentenced after admitting safety failings related to a worker being killed at its premises in Batley. Bradford Crown Court heard that on 17 August 2012, Simon Brook, an employee of Gwynn Davies-McTiffin Ltd was found lying seriously injured at the bottom of a horizontal baling machine (HSE)
  3. Top female snooker official takes governing body to tribunal – A top snooker referee is suing the sport’s world governing body for sexual discrimination, unfair dismissal and breach of contract. Michaela Tabb, 47, was the first woman to officiate at a professional snooker tournament in 2002 and went on to become one of the highest profile figures in the sport (Herald Scotland)
  4. Gatwick BA cabin crew face big pay cuts or redundancy – Hundreds of cabin crew at British Airways at Gatwick are being told to choose hefty pay cuts or redundancy despite the airline’s owners expecting to make more than €2.2bn (£1.6bn) in profits this year (British Airways)
  5. Higher legal fees ‘allowing companies to mistreat staff’ – Unscrupulous firms are getting away with discrimination and mistreatment of staff after new legal fees saw a massive drop in employment tribunals, lawyers claim. Employment tribunal claims dropped 56 per cent in the Midlands last year after new fees were introduced, according to new figures from the Ministry of Justice (The Birmingham Post)
  6. Rebekah Brooks’ ex-security boss vows to ‘blow whistle’ – The former head of security for Rebekah Brooks has said he will blow the whistle on Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers, the day after it was confirmed she had been re-hired as chief executive of News UK (The Guardian)
  7. Scottish government polishes reformist credentials – The Scottish government has embraced standardised testing for primary school pupils as part of a policy programme aimed at polishing its reformist credentials and heading off criticism over core areas such as education, health and policing (Financial Times)
  8. Gay clergyman faces wait for ruling in discrimination case – A gay clergyman may have to wait until next year to find out whether a decision to remove his right to officiate after he married another man was discriminatory. Canon Jeremy Pemberton, who married Laurence Cunnington last April, was told a job offer as a chaplain for Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust was being withdrawn (BT News)
  9. Solar panel installation company fined after worker falls through roof-light – A company that installs solar panels has been fined after a worker fell through a roof-light whilst installing solar panels on the roof of a barn at a property in Newton Stewart. Stranraer Sheriff Court heard that on 25 April 2014, an employee was placing solar panels onto a roof stepped back on to a roof-light and fell through it 3.6metres to the floor below (HSE)
  10. Civil service voluntary redundancy: Theresa Villiers says government will fund scheme – Funding to allow the civil service voluntary exit scheme to go ahead has been announced by the Secretary of State Theresa Villiers. The £700m scheme, which was agreed as part of the Stormont House Agreement, has faced uncertainty because of the continuing impasse over welfare reform (BBC)