In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we examine ten employment law-related stories that have made headlines between 2 April 2018 and 8 April 2018:

1. Construction company worker suffers life threatening injuries – A construction company was sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker suffered life threatening injuries. Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard that, in September 2016, a 48-year-old employee of K. D. S. Construction Company Ltd was working in a 2-metre-deep excavation when he was struck on the head and pinned down by a large segment of concrete (HSE)
2. Nine out of 10 public sector bodies pay men more than women – Groundbreaking legislation forcing companies to disclose their gender pay gap for the first time has revealed that almost nine out of 10 public sector organisations pay men more than women (The Guardian)
3. Sacked Dundee social worker fails to win back job after claiming domestic abuse – A social worker has failed in a bid to be reinstated after she was sacked for poor performance — despite claiming to have been the victim of domestic abuse (The Evening Telegraph)
4. Gig economy union files £200,000 holiday pay claim against courier company CitySprint – A union representing gig economy workers has filed a legal claim for £200,000 of unpaid holiday pay against courier company CitySprint. The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) says CitySprint denied couriers their holiday entitlements by falsely claiming that they are independent contractors, instead of workers or employees (The Independent)
5. BBC journalist Sally Chidzoy loses appeal against employment tribunal decision to strike out her case for talking to reporter – BBC journalist Sally Chidzoy has lost her appeal against an employment tribunal decision to strike out her claim after she spoke to a local reporter during a break in the hearing (The Press Gazette)
6. Commonwealth chief Lady Scotland ‘was a prima donna’ with dignitaries – The Commonwealth secretary-general forced her head of office from his job and behaved like a prima donna with international dignitaries, an employment tribunal was told (The Times)
7. UK: Metropolitan Police admit role in construction blacklist – After years of denial, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have finally acknowledged that officers provided information to construction companies for a blacklist of building workers (World Socialist Web Site)]
8. Company fined after workers suffer serious burns – A Nottinghamshire foundry has been sentenced after two employees suffered serious burns from an electrical flashover (HSE)
9. ‘Sleep well my dirty Catwoman’: Cop ‘sent sexist and racist texts to rookie police woman during undercover operation’ – A policeman has been suspended over claims he sent sexual and racist texts to a vulnerable rookie female officer he was meant to be helping. Detective Sergeant Stephen Redgewell, 52, was assisting the WPC in his role with the Police Federation (The Sun)
10. Met Police detective is blasted by a judge after losing his twelfth employment tribunal over ‘wild and unfounded’ race discrimination claims – A police officer has been slammed by a judge after he lost his 12th employment tribunal in just ten years. Detective Constable Derrick Quarm, 44, was told that his latest claim of being victimised because of his race was ‘totally without merit’ (The Daily Mail)