Employment law cases in the news – 22.06.2015 to 28.06.2015

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 made the news between 22 and 28 June 2015

  1. Injection moulding firm fined after worker fall – A die casting and injection moulding firm has been sentenced after an employee fell from one of its machines, suffering severe injuries. Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard today (22 June) that Mr Sekou Camara had been working on top of the machine at Lesney Industries Ltd at the request of his supervisor- in order to clean the hopper, in preparation for a change of material used in the machine (HSE)
  2. Charity chief to take former employers to tribunal – An Aberdeen children’s charity is being taken to an employment tribunal amid claims by a former boss that her dismissal was “substantively and procedurally unfair”. Karen Farquhar-Marr, who was chief executive of Befriend a Child until February, has revealed she is taking legal action against her former employers, accusing them of taking the decision to terminate her employment “at any cost” (The Press and Journal)
  3. Dismissal was unfair, but academic sparked it himself – A former Queen Mary University of London academic was unfairly dismissed but contributed “100 per cent” to his demise because he disobeyed a direct management instruction to teach a course, an employment tribunal has ruled (The Times Higher Education Supplement)
  4. Man breaks legs at dance academy in lift shaft fall – The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has been sentenced after a member of the public fell into a vacant lift shaft. Mr Hector Maclean, 23, fell into a vacant lift shaft after leaning on a set of double doors at street level (HSE)
  5. Payout for Telford nurse after unfair dismissal case – A nurse is set to net a “five-figure” compensation fee after an employment tribunal judge ruled she had been unfairly dismissed by a county military charity. Delia Robinson, from St Georges in Telford, has spoken for the first time of her delight and relief after it was ruled bosses at Newport-based Combat Stress were wrong to sack her in 2012 after a period of suspension on full pay (The Shropshire Star)
  6. Creche employee awarded €22,224 for unfair dismissal – A Mayo creche worker who was sacked has been awarded €22,224 by an Employment Appeals Tribunal following hearings in Castlebar. Helena Harrington had been working for Charlestown Community Childcare Limited, T/A Happy Feet Creche and Preschool, in July 2012, when she became involved in the alleged conflict which led to her dismissal (The Connaught Telegraph)
  7. Sacked RSA boss in Ireland awarded €1.25m by tribunal – The former chief executive of RSA Insurance’s troubled Irish business has been awarded €1.25m (£900,000) by an employment tribunal almost two years after he quit the company. Philip Smith had claimed he was the “fall guy” for problems in the unit, which has been in the spotlight since a £200m black hole was discovered in its accounts in late 2013 (The Independent)
  8. Charity fundraiser: Boss told me to have an abortion – A mother has told how her boss encouraged her to have an abortion when she told him she was pregnant, then sacked her when she refused. Teri Cumlin, a former team leader with Engage Fundraising, was subjected to a catalogue of abuse and harassment by manager Mark Robertson throughout her pregnancy (Herald Scotland)
  9. Compass Group subsidiary ‘paid bribes to Kazakhstan customs officials’ – An international subsidiary of Compass Group, the British catering giant that supplies more than 1,500 UK primary schools and 30 NHS Trusts, paid bribes to government officials in Kazakhstan, documents seen by the Guardian reveal (The Guardian)
  10. Baker loses tip of finger – A Newcastle Bakery have been fined after an incident with an unguarded machine caused a 53 year old employee to lose the tip of his middle finger. Newcastle magistrates heard an employee of Minhoco 21 Limited was operating a pie making machine when his right hand was carried around with the motion of the machine. The blocker head came down and removed the tip of his middle finger (HSE)