Employment law stories in the news – 01.12.2014 to 07.12.2014

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at ten employment law stories that have made the news between 1 December and 7 December 2014.

  1. Most fathers ‘don’t want shared parental leave’ – Three quarters of British men oppose sharing parental leave equally, despite legislation aimed at helping new fathers stay at home for longer, a study claims. From Monday, employers must offer shared parental leave of up to 50 weeks for children born after April 1, 2015 (The Telegraph)
  2. Pharmacist who unlawfully spied on family and friends’ medical records prosecuted – A pharmacist who worked for South West Essex Primary Care Trust has been prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after unlawfully accessing the medical records of family members, work colleagues and local health professionals (ICO)
  3. Parental payments and SSP from April 2015 – The rate of statutory adoption pay, statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory shared parental pay and maternity allowance will increase from £138.18 to £139.58 in April 2015. The standard rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) will increase from £87.55 to £88.45 in April 2015 (HR Bullets)
  4. European Court will give an initial opinion on the Woolworths and Ethel Austin case on 5 February – The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has announced that an Advocate General will publish an opinion on, Thursday 5 February 2015, about the case Usdaw made on behalf of Woolworths and Ethel Austin members (USDAW)
  5. Quarter of employees have attended work ‘under the influence’ – One in four UK workers have admitted to working under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and more than a fifth said they drive to work despite feeling they are over the legal limit, a poll has revealed (CIPD)
  6. Steel firm fined after worker seriously injured – A worker had to have three toes amputated after his foot was crushed beneath a 300kg press die as he moved it from the bed of the press he was working on, a court has heard. The 25-year-old, of North Ormesby, was organising a lift of the press die – used to shape sheet metal – at S M Thompson Limited, in Middlesbrough, when the incident happened on 17 March 2014 (HSE)
  7. British Muslims face worst job discrimination of any minority group, according to research – Muslims are facing the worst job discrimination of any minority group in Britain, according to new research which found that they had the lowest chance of being in work or in a managerial role (The Independent)
  8. ‘Landmark legal win’ for cardiologist Dr Kevin Beatt sacked by Croydon Hospital for whistleblowing on patient safety – A leading heart doctor who blew the whistle on safety following a patient’s death at Croydon University Hospital was unfairly dismissed amid a calculated attempt to damage his reputation, a tribunal has ruled (Your Local Guardian)
  9. Former Cammell Laird shipyard worker wins European Parliament backing in 30 year battle for justice – A former Cammell Laird worker jailed after taking part in industrial action has won the backing of the European Parliament in a 30-year bid to clear his name. Brussels politicians said Eddie Marnell, from Aintree, had been the victim of a clear miscarriage of justice and his case had been an outrage (The Liverpool Echo)
  10. Top doctor sues Manchester Royal Infirmary for ‘racism’ after bust-up with surgeon outside operating theatre – A top doctor who was demoted following an extraordinary bust-up with a surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary is suing the hospital for racial discrimination. Consultant anaesthetist Dr Kamran Abbas and consultant surgeon Jarrod Homer were both given final written warnings after the furious altercation in front of colleagues on the hospital’s main theatre corridor (The Manchester Evening News)