Employment law stories in the news – 07.08.2017 to 13.08.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at six employment law stories that have made headlines between 7 August 2017 and 13 August 2017

  1. Employment claims stayed by order following landmark fees ruling – All employment claims or applications brought to tribunal which rely on last month’s landmark Supreme Court decision on fees have been stayed by order. Yesterday’s decision, by president of the Employment Tribunals Brian Doyle, has been made ’to await decisions of the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service in relation to the implications’ of the judgment (The Law Society Gazette)
  2. Worker suffers flash burns – A manufacturing firm has been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker suffered flash burns to her face, neck, chest and both arms. Pyronix Limited manufactures intruder alarm equipment. Part of the manufacturing process involves dipping Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) in Fluorocoat Thin Film Coating, which is a highly flammable substance, to provide humidity protection (HSE)
  3. Carer’s fury as Tories “let firms get away with £2.60 an hour night shifts” – A carer told of his anger after the government stopped forcing care firms to cough up for years of overnight shifts paid well below the minimum wage. Chris Broadwell, 41, from Toxteth, said he feared missing out on thousands of pounds in backpay after allegedly receiving just £2.60 an hour for more than two years of overnight work (The Liverpool Echo)
  4. Pimlico Plumbers wins right to appeal employment case – The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Pimlico Plumbers’ appeal against a decision by the Appeal Court that one of its self-employed contractors was in fact an employee (Economia)
  5. Sports Direct facing investigation after telling staff they can only speak in English – Sports Direct may face a flood of legal claims after banning staff from speaking to each other in any language except English, experts said (The Telegraph)
  6. Company fined after scaffold collapse – A Dorset based company has been fined after a scaffold collapsed at an industrial unit in Wallisdown, Poole. Poole Magistrates’ Court heard how Swanage and Dorset Scaffolding and Roofing Limited (SDSRL) had been contracted to erect scaffolding at the industrial unit in Alder Hills Business Park, Wallisdown, Poole to provide edge protection for work to be carried out on the roof (HSE)