Employment law cases in the news – 27.03.2017 to 02.04.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at nine employment law cases that made headlines between 27 March and 2 April 2017

  1. Construction company fined after worker loses fingers – Coldmac Limited has been fined after one of its workers suffered life changing injuries to his hand which required surgical intervention. Nuneaton Magistrates Court heard how Coldmac Limited had been appointed specialist contractors for a new footway (HSE)
  2. Fifteen Bedfordshire Police officers and staff under investigation for racial discrimination – Ten senior Bedfordshire Police officers, one junior officer and four members of staff are under investigation for their racial discrimination against one of their own officer, the police watchdog has confirmed (The Bedforshire News)
  3. Foster carers bid for council employee rights – A couple who have been working as foster carers for six years are to take their case to be classed as council employees to a tribunal. James and Christine Johnstone claim to have suffered an unlawful deduction of wages after not having a child placed with them for a year (BBC)
  4. Deliveroo drivers are gearing up for an employment tribunal over workers’ rights – Deliveroo riders are gearing up for a legal challenge against the startup over rights to holiday pay, minimum wage and other benefits. Some 20 drivers have started the process to begin an employment tribunal with the same law firm which won a landmark case for workers rights for Uber drivers last year, and 200 in total have expressed interest in joining the claim (City AM)
  5. ECJ considers holiday carry-over beyond sick leave – A worker’s annual leave can be carried over into the following holiday year if sickness absence prevents holiday from being taken. But what if a worker is prevented from taking leave for other reasons beyond their control? A European Court of Justice (ECJ) case heard on 29 March has the potential to extend when employers must allow workers to carry over holiday (Personnel Today)
  6. Nottinghamshire Police ‘justified’ in laying off long-serving officers – Nottinghamshire police officers forced to retire in a bid to cut costs will not receive a penny in compensation after top judges ruled the move was ‘justified’. Five police forces in England and Wales used a regulation known as A19 to make almost all officers with 30 years or more of service – who are able to claim at least two thirds of their pension – leave in the “interest of efficiency” (The Nottingham Post)
  7. Christian nurse who was sacked after ‘telling patients they’d have a better chance of survival if they prayed before surgery’ claims she was unfairly dismissed – A nurse was sacked for offering to pray with patients before operations and telling them it would improve their chances of survival, her employment tribunal heard today (The Mail Online)
  8. Fine for two companies following asbestos investigation in Surrey – Two companies have been fined after unsafe asbestos work was carried out on a property in Leatherhead, Surrey. Staines Magistrates’ Court heard how Kingsley Asbestos Services Limited (KAS), although a licensed asbestos removal contractor, was sub contracted by Bourne Valley Construction Services Limited (BVCS) to carry out the work (HSE)
  9. Pot plant on desk ‘was racial segregation’, claims Westminster Council worker – A council worker sued his employer claiming that he was racially discriminated against because of an overgrown pot plant. Benyam Kenbata, 34, who worked for Westminster council, alleged he was deliberately being separated in an open-plan office when a colleague placed the plant on her desk (The Evening Standard)