Employment law stories in the news – 10.07.2017 to 16.07.2017

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 have made headlines between 10 July and 16 July 2017

  1. Construction company fined after worker fell through fragile roof – T Broom Construction Limited has today been fined after an employee of the company fell more than five metres through a fragile roof onto the ground. Taunton Magistrates’ Court heard that on 23 June 2016, 26-year old Ryan Sartin was repairing a roof at Home Farm, Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset when he fell through a fragile roof onto concrete flooring (HSE)
  2. Denise Aubrey tribunal: Northumbria Police tries to recoup £570k – A police force is trying to get back more than £577,000 it spent defending itself in an unfair dismissal tribunal. Northumbria Police’s ex legal chief Denise Aubrey, 56, claimed she was unfairly sacked after disclosing private information to staff (BBC)
  3. Sacked Unite official goes to court seeking reinstatement – A union official who was sacked after challenging Len McCluskey for leadership of the Unite trade union is going to court on Thursday to demand his reinstatement. Lawyers for Gerard Coyne, who was suspended as a Unite regional secretary in April, will seek to use legislation which can be used to prevent people being sacked for trade union activities (The Guardian)
  4. Fifth of Brits would ask employers to delete personal details under GDPR – A fifth (21 per cent) of people plan to use their rights under the incoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ask their employer or ex-employers to delete their information, research has revealed (CIPD)
  5. Take from rich mothers to help poor, says maternity pay plan from Tory thinktank – Rich working mothers should have their maternity pay cut in order to fund higher payments to the poorest parents, according to a new commission backed by three former Tory cabinet ministers (The Guardian)
  6. Taylor review set to back extra gig worker rights – Workers in Britain’s gig economy would be given new protections linked to the minimum wage without losing the right to set their own schedules under proposals due on Tuesday from a government-commissioned review (The Financial Times)
  7. Haulage firm fined after worker crushed – A haulage firm has been fined after a load from the top of a double-decked trailer fell onto a worker. Warwick Crown Court heard that a Maxi Haulage Limited employee was injured at a site in Cape Road Warwick, when a piece of metal ducting, six metres long and weighing 28kg, fell from the top deck of the trailer, hitting him on his head (HSE)
  8. Matthew Taylor report: Government should look at reducing the cost of employment tribunal fees – Government officials should look at reducing the cost of employment tribunal fees, according to Matthew Taylor, who today publishes a long-awaited review into employment rights of workers in the gig economy (The Independent)
  9. Whistleblowing: Court of Appeal rules on “public interest” test – The Court of Appeal has delivered its judgment in the important whistleblowing case of Chesterton Global Ltd and another v Nurmohamed. This is a key case that sets out the approach to be taken by tribunals when deciding if a disclosure is “in the public interest”, a requirement for statutory whistleblowing protection (Personnel Today)
  10. British Council boss sacked for rant about Prince George sues for ‘discrimination’ – A British Council boss sacked over a shocking Facebook rant about Prince George is suing her former employer for discrimination. Angela Gibbins, former head of global estates at the charity, was suspended and later fired after branding the royal tot “white privilege” (The Mirror)