Employment law cases in the news – 18.08.2014 to 24.08.2014

redmans-blog-newsIn 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 the news between 18 August and 24 August 2014.

  1. Union claims National Library of Wales in ‘turmoil’ on eve of high-profile employment tribunal – The trade union for top civil servants claims the National Library of Wales is in turmoil over the treatment of two highly respected members of staff who were demoted after technical errors were identified in the awarding of a contract (Wales Online)
  2. Council cleared of wrongly dismissing ‘whistleblower’ – A tribunal has cleared Guildford Borough Council of sacking an employee because he was a ‘whistleblower’. Jeremy Gray, who worked for several years in Environmental Health, uncovered illegal actions by the council in installing CCTV cameras at a block of flats (Get Surrey)
  3. Tysers cleared of whistleblowing dismissal – Former Tysers COO Quintin Heaney last week won an unfair dismissal tribunal but the court rejected his claims that he was sacked for blowing the whistle about regulatory disclosures. The bitter dispute followed Heaney’s sudden departure from the London market broker last year (Insurance Insider)
  4. Big Brother professor ‘sacked unfairly‘ – A former psychologist for TV show Big Brother was sacked unfairly by the University of Manchester, an employment tribunal has ruled. Professor Geoff Beattie was sacked for not disclosing the full extent of his media and broadcasting work (BBC)
  5. Redditch carer takes former employer to tribunal for sex discrimination – A Redditch carer has made a legal claim for sex discrimination after complaining a woman management member told her to “Cheer up and put a smile on her face” (The Redditch Advertiser)
  6. Canal worker sacked over ‘private banter’ on Facebook – A canal worker is suing the national waterways body for unfair dismissal after he was sacked for posting comments on social media claiming he was drinking while on standby for flood alert. David Smith claimed the comments were “banter” and a “joke” and thought his remarks were private. But he was dismissed when bosses at Scottish Canals took the view that he had been consuming alcohol (Herald Scotland)
  7. DIY store criticised over way they sacked Bromsgrove employee – A DIY store has been criticised by a judge over the way they sacked a Bromsgrove employee. Birmingham Employment Tribunal judge Bryn Lloyd said the Kidderminster branch of B&Q, where Terence Moran was employed, had treated him far more harshly than any other employee (The Bromsgrove Advertiser)
  8. Sacked Al-Hijrah School governor sued for £100,000 over ‘harassment’ of staff – Council chiefs are suing the former governor of a troubled Birmingham school for up to £100,000 over claims he led a campaign of harassment against staff brought in to turn it around (The Birmingham Mail)
  9. John Bercow faces sex discrimination claim over top job – John Bercow, the Speaker of the Commons, is facing a sexual discrimination claim over his plans to give Parliament’s top job to an Australian woman. David Natzler, the current deputy clerk, is considering legal action after a panel chaired by Mr Bercow opted to give the £200,000-a-year job of Commons clerk to Australian official Carol Mills (The Telegraph)
  10. Hundreds of former Comet workers to lose out on compensation after ruling – Hundreds of former Comet employees are to lose out on compensation for being laid off incorrectly after an employment tribunal ruling on Friday dashed hopes of a payout. A Leeds tribunal ruled in June that a number of former Comet employees laid off when the retailer went bust should receive 90 days’ pay in compensation (The Guardian)