Employment law stories in the news – 12.01.2015 to 18.01.2015

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 the news between 12 January and 18 January 2015.

1. Council workers’ victory at tribunal – Thousands of female North Lanarkshire Council workers have won a victory in their long running battle over equal pay. Glasgow Employment Tribunal has ruled there is no descrection in law to vary the judical rate of eight per cent interest in the case of McCarthy and others v North Lanarkshire Council (The Motherwell Times)
2. Tesco tells a third of senior directors they face redundancy or demotion as Dave Lewis’ restructure begins to bite – Tesco has started warning senior directors that they face redundancy or demotion, as part of a restructure designed to get the supermarket back on track. Around a third of these key decision-makers have been told by Tesco top brass that they face redundancy or “changed responsibilities at a lower work level” (City AM)
3. Ex-Oldham star accused of spot-fixing to sue club – Cristian Montano, the winger sacked by Oldham following allegations of spot-fixing, is to sue the club. The Colombian, 22, was dismissed by the League One Latics in December following a newspaper sting which saw him and five other players arrested (BBC)
4. John Lewis and Waitrose staff receive £22m holiday pay windfall – John Lewis and Waitrose staff are set to share a £22m extra bonus this year after an employment tribunal forced a change in the way all British companies calculate holiday pay (The Guardian)
5. Minimum wage: 37 firms named for failing to pay rate – Retail giant H&M and service station operator Welcome Break are among 37 firms to be “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage. It is the single biggest list of companies exposed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BBC)
6. Former Calderstones trust chief executive claims she was forced out of role due to ‘macho culture’ which included derogatory homosexual jokes – A former chief executive of a health trust in East Lancashire claims she was forced out of her role because of a ‘macho culture’ which included telling derogatory jokes about homosexuals (Blackburn Citizen)
7. University reaches out-of-court settlement with sacked ‘poolside bust-up’ boss – A university has reached an out-of-court secret settlement with its former second-in-command – who was sacked following an investigation into a furious swimming pool bust-up. Dr Adrian Graves launched legal action against the University of Salford after being dismissed from the deputy vice-chancellor post for gross misconduct (The Manchester Evening News)
8. Unions furious at Tory anti-strike law pledge – The Conservatives provoked a major row with the trade unions over sweeping plans to ban them from taking strike action without the support of at least 40 per cent of their members (The Telegraph)
9. Oven death firm Pyranha Mouldings guilty of manslaughter – A kayak manufacturer has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter after a worker became trapped and died in an industrial oven in Cheshire. Alan Catterall, 54, tried to escape using a crowbar but suffered severe burns at the Pyranha Mouldings factory in Runcorn in 2010. He died of shock (BBC)
10. Lombard Odier wins £2.7m legal row with ex-hedge fund manager – A Lombard Odier whistleblower, who accused the firm of unfair dismissal and mismanagement of client money, has lost his legal battle against the private bank (City Wire)