Employment law stories in the news – 03.05.2021 to 09.05.2021

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news we take a look at ten employment law stories that made headlines between 3 May 2021 and 9 May 2021

1. Man wins £34,000 payout after being sacked for smoking weed to treat bad back – A man who was sacked after failing a drugs test at work has been given a payout for unfair dismissal. Carl Pamment was told by bosses at recycling firm Renewi where he had worked for 14 years that the result was ‘perilous’ when he was fired last April (The Metro)
2. School reported chaplain to terror watchdog after sermon on sexuality – A school chaplain who was reported to terrorism watchdogs and sacked after giving a sermon on identity politics said that he feared for other teachers at the school and called on ministers “to protect freedom of speech” (The Times)
3. Firm entitled to sack ‘car-window cash’ solicitor, CoA rules – The Court of Appeal ruled today that a legal aid firm was justified in dismissing a solicitor for ‘topping up’ sums with cash payments from his client’s father (The Law Society Gazette)
4. Gary Lineker faces IR35 tax accusation – HM Revenue and Customs has accused football and TV star Gary Lineker of having a £4.9m tax liability and of being a ‘disguised employee’ under IR35 (Personnel Today)
5. Teacher with crippling illness was wrongly sacked, according to scathing tribunal judgment – A teacher battling a chronic and debilitating bowel condition was wrongly sacked by a head teacher who had an ‘exit agenda’ to get rid of her (Liverpool Echo)
6. Police union official ‘breached force guidelines for ten years’ – A leading trade unionist on the payroll of Police Scotland regularly breached force guidelines over a decade without anyone realising, a tribunal has heard (Herald Scotland)
7. Lecturer’s dismissal for failing to complete PhD ‘unfair’, tribunal rules – A university lecturer who lost his job because he was unable to complete a PhD as he had concerns for his mental health was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has found (Personnel Today)
8. Lawyer who was suspended for telling joke likening Africans to cannibals wins discrimination claim against legal firm because he was suffering from mental health issues at the time – A lawyer who was suspended for telling a joke likening Africans to cannibals has won a discrimination case against his legal firm because he was suffering from mental health issues at the time, a tribunal has ruled (The Daily Mail)
9. Manager with cancer fired after steroids altered his behaviour awarded £2.5m for unfair dismissal – A manager who was forced out of his job when steroid medication altered his mood has been awarded more than £2.5m at an employment tribunal (People Management)
10. School cleaner wins £6,000 after racist ‘voodoo’ joke made by caretaker – A black school cleaner has won more than £6,000 after a colleague made a racist joke about her using ‘voodoo’ against him (The Metro)