Employment law stories in the news – 15.01.2018 to 21.01.2018

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news we examine ten employment law stories that have made headlines between 15 January 2018 and 21 January 2018:

  1. Dame Judi Dench theatre actress pestered for sex and sent text calling her “s**t” is awarded £10,000 compensation – An actress has won over £10,000 after being sexually harassed at a theatre company which has Dame Judi Dench as its patron. Helen Vine, 26, was taunted about her body, pestered for sex and got a message calling her a “slut” while touring with Rainbow Theatre, which performs in primary schools (The Mirror)
  2. Police watchdog ‘defers’ handling of complaint against acting chief constable Iain Livingston – An embattled watchdog has shelved a complaint made against the Acting Chief Constable of Police Scotland nearly six months ago, the Sunday Herald can reveal (Herald Scotland)
  3. ‘Opinionated’ Romanian-born police officer who was disciplined after calling one boy a ‘d***head’ and complained her instructors were racist loses racial discrimination claim – An ‘aggressive and rude’ Romanian-born policewoman has lost her claim for racial discrimination after she was disciplined over her behaviour (The Daily Mail)
  4. Former Watford medical chief suing club over claims he was sacked because he is English – Watford are fighting a discrimination claim by their former medical chief who is suing the club on the grounds that he lost his job because he was English rather than Italian (The Times)
  5. Whistleblowing dinner lady awarded a huge payout after council failed to investigate her claims properly – A dinner lady who claimed she was bullied after she raised allegations about use of children’s food at her primary school has won a huge pay-out. Neydi Vasconcelos, who worked part-time at Medlock Primary in Ardwick, was awarded £45,000 in damages and loss of earnings by Manchester Council (The Manchester Evening News)
  6. Wife killer fails in legal bid to challenge pension entitlement ruling – A man convicted of murdering his wife who has been seeking to challenge his former employer’s decision to award him a reduced pension has had his case dismissed (Scottish Legal News)
  7. Ryanair: HMRC and employment tsar may question airline over pay – Ryanair has been referred to employment and tax authorities for investigation by two parliamentary committees, citing the airline’s “refusal to cooperate” with inquiries over crew pay and conditions (The Guardian)
  8. Drivers delivering Amazon parcels win legal battle which keeps ‘Draconian working conditions’ secret but could help 15,000 claim back pay – Drivers delivering Amazon ­parcels secured a victory that could pave the way for up to 15,000 others to claim back cash, unions say. Logistics firm UK Express reached an out-of-court settlement with four former drivers which meant details of ­“Draconian working conditions” were not aired in public (The Mirror)
  9. Robinsons of Worcester Aggregates Ltd, of Besford, racially discrimiated against driver Charles Christopher Barnes – A black lorry driver was discriminated against due to his race when he was sacked by a haulage company following a minor prang, an Employment Tribunal ruled (Worcester News)
  10. Glasgow City Council set to back down over £500m equal pay claims for women workers – A decade-long dispute in which thousands of female workers at Glasgow City Council have been underpaid will see the finally local authority cave in to demands today – but the employees are being warned not to expect an automatic pay-out (Herald Scotland)