Employment law cases in the news – 24.10.2016 to 30.10.2016

In the latests of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at five employment law cases that have made headlines between 24 October 2016 and 30 October 2016

1. Uber loses right to classify UK drivers as self-employed – Uber drivers are not self-employed and should be paid the “national living wage”, a UK employment court has ruled in a landmark case which could affect tens of thousands of workers in the gig economy (The Guardian)
2. Farming and drilling contractors fined after mast strikes power line – Two Norfolk-based companies have been fined after a worker suffered life-changing injuries following an overhead power line strike. Norwich Crown Court heard that L F Papworth Ltd and T. W. Page & Son Ltd had organised drilling work for the purposes of crop irrigation at Felmingham, Norfolk (HSE)
3. Top PSNI officers involved in conspiracy against whistleblower detectives, tribunal told – The detective who secured a confession from double killer Hazel Stewart has claimed there was a “conspiracy” against him and another detective after they reported the wrongdoing of senior police officers (The Belfast Telegraph)
4. Senior doctor sacked by text while on holiday after blowing whistle on ‘British army drugs scam’ seeks justice – A senior doctor sacked by text while on holiday after blowing the whistle on a suspected drugs scam at a British Army base will seek justice tomorrow. Dr Stephen Frost, who led the campaign for an inquest into the death of weapons inspector Dr David Kelly, was dismissed by the Ministry of Defence after calling for a police investigation (The Daily Mail)
5. Worker seriously injured in mobile platform fall – A Buckinghamshire waste equipment maintenance firm has been fined after a worker suffered serious head injuries when a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) overturned (HSE)