Employment law cases in the news – 31.07.2017 to 06.08.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made headlines between 31 July 2017 to 6 August 2017

  1. BAE Systems loses case over ‘single sexist comment’ – BAE Systems has lost a legal appeal to reduce a £360,000 compensation payout to a former secretary over a “single sexist comment” at work. The defence company argued that the award to Marion Konczak, 62, was “excessive” (The Financial Times)
  2. Christian Hospital Worker Punished for Sharing Faith Loses Again in Court – A Christian therapist in England who was suspended after being accused of evangelizing to a Muslim colleague has suffered another loss in court (The Christian Post)
  3. £30k payout for Hall Construction workers ‘left in the dark’ over firm going into administration – Employees of a Hull firm who complained they were “left in the dark” over their employer’s decision to go into administration earlier this year have been awarded more than £30,000 (Hull Daily Mail)
  4. Whistle-blower army doctor loses long-running legal battle over sacking – A doctor who claimed he was sacked by the Ministry of Defence over whistleblowing about doses of drugs being given to an army veteran has lost his long-running legal battle (The Daily Post)
  5. Christian health boss sacked for opposing gay adoption accuse NHS of discrimination – Richard Page, 71, told an employment tribunal he was penalised for defending the role of the traditional family. The father-of-three said he had worked with many gay people during his 20-year health service career and had never questioned their ability nor style of life (The Express)
  6. Northampton boss Justin Edinburgh responds to Gillingham chairman Paul Scally – Justin Edinburgh has wished the Gills well despite criticism from his former boss. Gills chairman Paul Scally attended an employment tribunal on Monday, defending the club from what he described as a “ridiculous claim” made by their former manager Edinburgh (Kent Online)
  7. Foster carers recognised as employees in ‘landmark’ case – Two Scottish foster carers have been recognised as employees for the first time after winning a “landmark” tribunal. James and Christine Johnstone argued they were entitled to benefits as employees of Glasgow City Council (STV)
  8. Court victory expands collective consultation rights, claims Unison – A Court of Appeal decision “makes it much harder for employers to ignore staff when making major changes in the workplace”, Unison claims. Vining and others v London Borough of Wandsworth and another involved the redundancies of two park police constables (Personnel Today)
  9. EAT rules that voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay – The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed an appeal by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, ruling that voluntary overtime should be taken into account when calculating holiday pay (Employeebenefits)
  10. Christian pastor loses unfair dismissal tribunal – A Christian pastor has lost a claim for unfair dismissal and religious belief discrimination, made against a baggage handling firm. Colin Houston took the claim against Swissport, after his temporary contract was not renewed in September 2016 (BBC)