Employment law stories in the news – 15.06.2020 to 21.06.2020

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 15 June 2020 and 21 June 2020

1. Firefighter axed after blazing row with his former lover reinstated and awarded £21k – A hero firefighter sacked following a row with his colleague ex-lover has got his job back and been awarded £21,000 compensation for unfair dismissal (The Belfast Telegraph)
2. Workers seeking redress face delays as tribunal backlog grows – Workers treated unfairly by their employer face waiting up to two years for legal redress, because a backlog of cases in the employment tribunal system has become much worse during the coronavirus lockdown (The Financial Times)
3. Lewisham Windrush victim sacked after being labelled illegal immigrant gets £20,000 compensation –  A Windrush scandal victim sacked after she was wrongly labelled an illegal immigrant who faked documents has been awarded £20,828 by an employment tribunal (London News Wire)
4. ‘Humiliated’ waitress got revenge on chef who slapped her bum by urging pals to post fake restaurant reviews – A waitress got revenge on a chef who slapped her bum by urging pals to post fake restaurant reviews (The Scottish Sun)
5. Ayrshire council to fight almost 400 new claims for equal pay – Workers have lodged 381 new claims for equal pay at North Ayrshire Council. The council said it will fight the recent claims from workers who believe their pay packets are unfair (The Daily Record)
6. Trust unfairly dismissed staff member after ‘hatchet job’ – A trust chief executive ‘inexplicably’ became involved in the case of a member of staff which ended in their dismissal after a ‘hatchet job’ disciplinary process, an employment tribunal has ruled (HSJ)
7. Government officials eye return of employment tribunal fees – UK government officials have asked the Law Commission of England and Wales to help them design a lawful system for charging employment tribunal fees, according to reports (Scottish Legal)
8. Autistic lecturer who was described as ‘mad as a box of frogs’ by bosses at private London university wins her disability discrimination tribunal – A university lecturer with special needs has won a discrimination claim after she was overworked by her former employers which led to severe anxiety (The Mail Online)
9. Christ Church loses more than £3m in donations in row over Dean, it is claimed – Christ Church has suffered losses of more than £3m in bequests and donations due to an ongoing “farce” over the Dean’s tenure, it is claimed (The Telegraph)
10. Pregnant financial analyst is awarded £4,000 after her boss said she was ‘letting the team down’ by going to antenatal check-up – A pregnant finance analyst was awarded £4,000 after her boss told her she was ‘letting the team down’ by attending an antenatal appointment (The Mail Online)