Employment law cases in the news – 04.08.2014 to 10.08.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made the news between 4 August and 10 August 2014.

  1. Mum called “top totty” and groped by boss who sent her bondage pictures awarded £30K – A widowed mum-of-two was awarded £30,000 after being groped by her boss and then accused of having an affair by his wife. Recruitment manager Jennifer Newman, 34, told how she was called “proper top totty” by her boss in front of clients (The Mirror)
  2. Sacked fitness coach wins payout for unfair dismissal – Virgin Active Lancashire Health and Racquets Club in Heywood has been ordered to pay ex employee Maciej Grochowski £653.50 after a court ruled he was unfairly dismissed. The final payout figure comes after a 75% reduction was made for his conduct prior to his dismissal (Rochdale Online)
  3. Dundee bus driver fairly sacked after racial remark, employment tribunal rules – A Dundee bus driver was sacked after suggesting an Asian newsagent would welcome an extension to the city’s airport as it would allow his cousins to “come over with bombs”. When the shop assistant raised the issue with him, Andrew Smith made another racially offensive remark — later claiming it was no more than “banter” (The Courier)
  4. Metrics critic sacked by Queen Mary University of London – The co-writer of an open letter condemning Queen Mary University of London’s use of metrics to choose staff for redundancy has been sacked for refusing to teach a course. John Allen, formerly professor of biochemistry, was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct in May after a disciplinary panel concluded that he deliberately disobeyed a “reasonable management instruction” to teach the course. He now intends to make an employment tribunal claim (The Times Higher Education Supplement)
  5. Former Tysers COO cross-examined over whistleblowing allegations – Quintin Heaney, the former chief operating officer of Tysers, is suing the almost 200-year-old broker for £7mn, alleging he was wrongfully dismissed from the firm for blowing the whistle about its failure to make regulatory disclosures (Insurance Insider)
  6. High court throws out ‘incredible’ £6m bonus claim by ex-Investec traders – Two former Investec traders lost a three-year, £6m battle over their bonuses on Wednesday in a case described by a London high court judge as fanciful and “wholly incredible”. Andrew Brogden and Robert Reid, the former head and deputy head of the bank’s structured equity derivatives desk, alleged that the firm failed to honour an unwritten bonus agreement for 2010-2011 made when they joined the bank in 2007. The pair claimed more than £6m in bonuses despite their business having made losses (The Guardian)
  7. Former employee takes BASW to tribunal over unfair dismissal and racial discrimination claims – The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is being taken to tribunal by a former employee on four claims including unfair dismissal and racial discrimination. Marcia Lawrence-Russell was dismissed from her post as an advice and representation officer in 2012 after being accused of bullying by a co-worker (Community Care)
  8. Tribunal hears how EE worker kicked colleague unconscious at desk – A call centre manager has launched legal action against one of the region’s biggest employers after being sacked following an incident in which a man was kicked unconscious at his desk. Mother-of-two Fay Hand was dismissed after bosses said she had not done enough to tackle bullying and harassment among staff at the EE offices, in Darlington (The Northern Echo)
  9. Sacked BBC technology chief wins unfair dismissal case – The BBC’s former chief technology officer John Linwood, who was sacked in the wake of the £100m Digital Media Initiative fiasco, has won his unfair dismissal claim against the corporation. Linwood took legal action against the BBC after his contract was terminated in July last year following the failure of the DMI technology project which was scrapped by BBC director general, Tony Hall (The Guardian)
  10. Tamworth coach driver fired while battling illnesses, employment tribunal told – A Tamworth coach and bus firm faces paying a former driver more than £10,000 after he complained he was unfairly sacked while on sick leave suffering from arthritis and diabetes. David Blower had been employed by Tamworth Coach and Bus Ltd for four years, transporting mainly children to local schools (The Tamworth Herald)