Employment law cases in the news – 02.01.2017 to 08.01.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made headlines between 2 January and 8 January 2017

  1. Courier wins holiday pay in key tribunal ruling on gig economy – A cycle courier working for the delivery firm CitySprint has won the right to paid holidays and minimum pay in a key ruling on the gig economy (The Guardian)
  2. Shamed police officer accused of lying to employment tribunal hearing – A police officer with a string of commendations to his name has been accused of lying to an employment tribunal – by providing bogus paperwork. In a withering condemnation of former Inspector Jaswant Singh, tribunal judge Christopher Gaskell described the dossier as a “serious, deliberate and calculated falsehood” (The Birmingham Mail)
  3. Golf expert, 61, who dined with royalty to secure sponsorship deals for the PGA European Tour worth more than £100mllion is set for a huge payout after a tribunal rules he was unfairly sacked when he refused to retire or take a pay cut – A golf expert who secured sponsorship deals for more than £100million was unfairly sacked by the PGA European Tour for refusing to take an 80 per cent paycut, a tribunal has found.  Scott Kelly, 61, dined with royalty and attended some of the most prestigious golfing events in the world as the group marketing director for the golf organisation (The Mail Online)
  4. Whistleblower from Great Yarmouth awarded £5,631 following tribunal – Amanda Morling was dismissed by Hilton Community Services in 2015 following a disclosure about the alleged treatment of a vulnerable resident. It resulted in a 12-month employment tribunal, which eventually concluded in August last year that she lost her job for blowing the whistle (EDP24)
  5. Former chief executive at under-fire Bury Hospice claims she was unfairly dismissed – Sacking the boss of Bury Hospice was ‘inevitable’ following damaging reports about its performance, an employment tribunal has heard. Jacqui Comber, the hospice’s chief executive, was sacked in March last year after a report claimed there were ‘significant failures’ in leadership and allegations of bullying (The Manchester Evening News)
  6. Tribunal to hear ‘racial discrimination’ case from police constable – Police in Northern Ireland are facing serious allegations of racism within the organisation after an officer claimed to have been subjected to racist abuse by a number of his colleagues (The Belfast Telegraph)
  7. Burton Imam was unfairly dismissed, but will get no compensation, tribunal rules – A Burton Imam was unfairly dismissed by his mosque but will receive no financial compensation after a judge found there had been fault on both sides. In what the judge described as an ‘exceptional case’, Burton Imam Hafeez Rehman took his former employer Jamia Hanfia Ghosia Mosque, also known as Princess Street Mosque, to an employment tribunal at Nottingham Tribunal Court, claiming he had been wrongly fired on July 12, 2015 (The Burton Mail)
  8. Sacked Tesco worker gets €18,000 unfair dismissal payout after taking toy home – A former Tesco security manager who suffered a heart attack after being fired for taking home a toy to see if it was suitable to buy for his child before returning it has been awarded €18,000 (The International Business Times)
  9. Charity ordered to pay £130,000 after sacking whistleblowing Scottish director – A UK charity has been told to pay almost £130,000 in compensation to a Scottish employee it sacked last year after he whistleblew to funders. However, the payment to former Working on Wheels Sotland director Neil Logan, is now in doubt as the charity immediately announced its closure (Third Force News)
  10. Hereford woman who was sacked after more than 20 years’ service wins legal fight against Marks and Spencer – A Hereford woman sacked by Marks and Spencer after more than 20 years’ service has won her legal fight against the firm. Sally Roach, 55, took time off from her job at the Hereford branch of the business due to complications after gynaecological surgery in 2014, and was dismissed a year later (The Hereford Times)