Employment law stories in the news – 07.09.2015 to 13.09.2015

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 made headlines between 7 September 2015 and 13 September 2015

  1. Duncan Bannatyne’s £10m court battle: Former Dragons’ Den star sued by CEO who ran his business while he starred on TV – Former Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne is being sued for £10 million by the man who ran his business while he developed his television career. Nigel Armstrong was chief executive officer at the tycoon’s firm Bannatyne Fitness and turned it into a £90 million turnover company (The Daily Mail)
  2. Living wage fears sending ‘shockwaves’ through UK labour market – George Osborne’s £7.20 “national living wage” is sending “shockwaves” through the labour market as employers seek ways to minimise the extra costs, one of Britain’s largest recruiters has said (The Guardian)
  3. New tribunal fees ‘have given sexist bosses free licence to discriminate’ – Sexist bosses are being given “free licence” to discriminate against women because of new employment tribunal fees, the leader of London’s barristers warned today (The Evening Standard)
  4. England: employment tribunal system needs radical reform – Unlawful employment practices will continue to go unpunished unless the tribunal system is overhauled, the Law Society of England and Wales has warned. The Law Society has published proposals to transform the employment tribunal structure to benefit employees, employers, and the administration of justice (Scottish Legal)
  5. Employee fired by text awarded £15,000 at tribunal hearing – An employee who was fired by text message after querying his rate of pay has been awarded £15,000 at an employment tribunal after the judge found he had been unfairly dismissed (Scottish Legal)
  6. Nearly half of working mothers feel discriminated against – A new survey from Workingmums.co.uk has found that 49% of working mothers feel their employer actively discriminates against them. It also found that nearly two thirds of women return from maternity leave to a new job (The Guardian)
  7. Employment tribunal claim statistics released – The number of employment tribunal claims in 2015 continues to be significantly lower than before tribunal fees were introduced, according to statistics released today by the Ministry of Justice (Personnel Today)
  8. Travelling to work ‘is work’, European court rules – Time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers without a fixed office should be regarded as working time, the European Court of Justice has ruled. This time has not previously been considered as work by many employers (BBC)
  9. Tribunal fees discouraging conciliation, peers told – Employment tribunal fees are reducing the incentive for employers to seek early conciliation, a House of Lords committee heard this week (The Law Society Gazette)
  10. Grandfather sues B&Q after being sacked for ‘serious security breach’ – An 82 year-old grandfather is suing B&Q after he was sacked for keeping his till open for three and a half minutes. Ivor Smith is seeking £20,000 compensation from the DIY giant, claiming he was unfairly dismissed (STV)