Employment law cases in the news – 21.03.2016 to 27.03.2016

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made headlines between 21 March and 27 March 2016

  1. Terrorist attack survivor claims she lost job after suffering from shock –  A woman has told how she narrowly avoided being killed by a terrorist during the Tunisia beach shooting rampage only to return home to lose her job while suffering from shock. Lisa Baines sought help from her GP after coming home earlier than planned after fears she would suffer from “delayed trauma reaction.” On June 26 last year, ISIS gunman stormed popular resort of Sousse (Stoke Sentinel)
  2. Kath Harmeston: Employment tribunal decides in favour of Co-operative Group – A Manchester employment tribunal has found that former Co-operative Group procurement director, Kath Harmeston was not unfairly dismissed. Ms Harmeston, who was claiming whistle-blower status, was suing the Group for more than £5m. She argued she had been unfairly dismissed after having exposed alleged procurement non-compliance throughout the organisation (Cooperative News)
  3. Estate agency in dispute over former employee’s claims of ‘inflated sales’ – An estate agent is suing a leading London firm for £500,000, claiming he was forced out after making a whistleblowing allegation about “unethical” practices, the Standard has learned. A “high-flying” senior branch partner for estate agents Felicity J Lord claimed the firm misled the public by pretending to be selling more homes than it was in order to boost its value falsely (The Evening Standard)
  4. Tribunal finds Wrexham maths teacher’s sacking ‘a fair dismissal’ – Governors of a Wrexham school were right to dismiss a long-serving teacher whose standards failed to meet the targets set for her, an employment tribunal has ruled. Maths teacher Natalie Elmore was sacked in March, 2015, 13 years after joining Darland School, Rossett, but employment judge Philip Davies said her long service should have made it easier to achieve the improvement goals laid down over the final 12 months of her employment (News North Wales)
  5. Cycle couriers unite to demand the minimum wage – The Couriers’ Branch of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain has submitted a claim to the Employment Tribunal which, if successful, will revolutionise the employment status of cycle couriers, making them eligible for the basic rights and benefits that they are currently denied: the minimum wage, paid holidays, and protection from trade union victimisation (Bike Biz)
  6. Ex-Rangers stars drop legal case against the club – Former Rangers stars who were locked in a landmark legal dispute with the club have dropped their case for unpaid holiday pay. Kyle Hutton, Ian Black, Richard Foster and Steven Simonsen were seeking payouts totalling a five-figure sum from the Ibrox side after their contracts were not renewed when the club failed to gain promotion to the SPFL Premiership (Herald Scotland)
  7. Tribunal opens into dismissal of manager from Norfolk County Council’s troubled children’s services – A tribunal into the dismissal of a former team manager at Norfolk County Council’s children’s services department has heard evidence from a man who reviewed circumstances surrounding his suspension (EDP24)
  8. Jonas Gutiérrez claims he was ‘frozen out’ by Newcastle after cancer diagnosis – The former Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutiérrez has launched a £2m disability discrimination claim against the club, saying he was dropped as a result of his year-long battle with testicular cancer (The Guardian)
  9. Aylesford Newsprint workers awarded £750,000 after being dismissed without consultation – An employment tribunal has awarded £750,000 compensation to 98 workers who were made redundant from Aylesford Newsprint last year without consultation (Kent Online)
  10. 3,000 female workers to benefit as NHS Scotland equal pay claims settled – Thousands of women will receive cash payments after a deal was reached to settle historic equal pay claims against NHS Scotland. The trade union Unison had raised the action and said it was “great news” a deal had now been reached (The Courier)