Employment law cases in the news – 25.05.2015 to 31.05.2015

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at six employment law cases that made the news between 25 May and 31 May 2015

  1. Murder victim’s father accused of sex assault, employment tribunal hears – The father of murdered student Amanda Duffy was accused of sexually assaulting a worker at a charity he ran to help victims’ families, a tribunal has heard. Joe Duffy faced allegations of attacking the woman who worked at Petal (People Experiencing Trauma and Loss), a group which helps people affected by murder or suicide, but the claim was later rescinded (Herald Scotland)
  2. Payout for Scotland Yard sergeant ‘bullied’ in sex-bias case – A former Scotland Yard sergeant who claimed she was left suicidal after being “bullied” out of her dream career by Essex police is to receive a payout of thousands of pounds. Sarah Jay, 41, decided to settle her claim part way through her employment tribunal. Ms Jay claimed she was left no option but to resign as a sergeant from the force’s Prisoner Processing Team after it “refused” to accommodate her childcare needs and allow her more flexible shifts to care for her young daughter, Hollie (The Evening Standard)
  3. Basement Initiative leads to prosecution for London construction firm – London construction company Darma Limited has been fined over £13,000 after an unannounced inspection from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found dangerous conditions on a basement excavation site. The inspection of the site on Filmer Road in Fulham was carried out during a clampdown on poor safety conditions on basement projects in November 2013 (HSE)
  4. Carcraft workers take legal action after collapse – Former staff of the nationwide used car dealership Carcraft, which had a branch in Wednesbury, are looking to mount a group employment action against the business. The firm’s 500 employees across England and Wales, including 60 in the Black Country, were made redundant immediately after the firm went into administration at the end of April (The Express & Star)
  5. Jewish woman awarded £16k damages after being rejected for travel firm job because she cannot work Saturdays – A Jewish woman has won £16,000 damages from a travel firm after it rejected her job application because her religion prevents her from working Saturdays. Aurelie Fhima sent her CV to Manchester-based Travel Jigsaw and got a face-to-face interview (The Manchester Evening News)
  6. Paper shredding company fined after worker suffers severe hand injuries – Shred-it Limited, of Foresters Green, Trafford Park, Manchester pleaded guilty to safety failings after an new employee was injured by a shredding machine. The company appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court and was fined £18,000 with costs of £1,375 and a victim surcharge of £120 for breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSE)