Employment law stories in the news – 14.06.2021 to 20.06.2021

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 14 June 2021 and 20 June 2021

  1. ‘Vast bulk of civil disputes’ can be resolved online, says Vos – he ’vast bulk’ of civil disputes are capable of being resolved online, the master of the rolls has said in the latest update of his plan for a connected ecosystem digital dispute resolution systems (Law Society Gazette)
  2. GMC is infected by racism, judges fear – Racial discrimination could be “infecting” the General Medical Council, a tribunal said as it backed the first claim brought against the body (The Times)
  3. JPMorgan Banker Fired for Expense Errors Sues for Discrimination – Zainab Master, a junior banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London, worked 785 hours of weekday overtime in a year before she was fired (Bloomberg)
  4. Sellafield: Reports of homophobic abuse and bullying ‘not investigated’, tribunal told – Staff at the Sellafield nuclear site complained of “vile” homophobic abuse and bullying, a tribunal has heard. HR consultant Alison McDermott said reports of “appalling” harassment were not formally investigated (BBC)
  5. Linklaters denies sacking paralegal after ‘harassment’ – Magic circle firm Linklaters has rejected claims at an employment tribunal that a paralegal was dismissed after she rejected a senior colleague’s advances, saying her contract was terminated in the wake of ‘disruptive and frustrating’ behaviour at work (Law Society Gazette)
  6. Professor Roya Sheikholeslami wins £50k payout from Edinburgh University after being victimised over sex discrimination claim – A professor who was unfairly sacked and victimised for raising sex discrimination concerns at one of Scotland’s leading universities has claimed that her life has been “destroyed” (Herald Scotland)
  7. Court of Appeal rejects major shift on interim relief for ET claims – The Court of Appeal has rejected the opportunity to grant interim relief to a litigant with a claim for sex discrimination after concluding that any award would completely change how employment tribunals are handled (Law Society Gazette)
  8. Nursery worker wins £40,000 after getting ‘fired for being pregnant’ – A pregnant nursery worker has won £40,000 after her employer barred her from going to hospital then fired her. Simone Cousins, 29, who was left stressed due to the ordeal, has successfully sued on claims on pregnancy discrimination and harassment and unfair dismissal (The Mirror)
  9. Labour councillor George McIrvine wins £22,000 payout from police watchdog over unfair sacking – A Labour councillor and prominent trade unionist has been awarded more than £22,000 after winning his case for unfair dismissal against the Scottish Police Authority (Herald Scotland)
  10. Supermarket worker who called boss a ‘young idiot’ on Facebook was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules – An online shopper for supermarket Sainsbury’s was unfairly dismissed after she told a former colleague that her new manager was a “young idiot” in a Facebook comment, a tribunal has ruled (People Management)