Employment law stories in the news – 18.05.2020 to 24.05.2020

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news we take a look at ten employment law-related stories that made headlines between 18 May 2020 and 24 May 2020

  1. London Underground manager wins payout after he is sacked for sexual harassment – A London Underground manager sacked for sexually harassing a female colleague has been awarded a £14,000 payout after bosses took too long to dismiss him, an employment tribunal has ruled (The Telegraph)
  2. Top-100 firm acquired in pre-pack deal after collapse – One of the biggest firms in the south-east – and one that has generated controversy in recent years – has been bought in a pre-pack administration deal (The Law Society Gazette)
  3. KFC worker forced out of job after rejecting colleague’s advances – A restaurant worker has won £800 compensation from KFC after she turned down a date with a male colleague – and was then forced out of her job (Metro)
  4. Mind Monmouthshire charity worker, 49, was bullied out of her job after reporting colleagues for mocking a disabled woman and insulting the mentally ill, tribunal rules – A charity worker was bullied out of her job after reporting colleagues for mocking a disabled woman and insulting the mentally ill, a tribunal has ruled (The Mail Online)
  5. Jess Varnish unlikely to hear outcome of tribunal appeal for at least four weeks – The judgement in the Jess Varnish appeal hearing which begins on Tuesday is unlikely to be handed down for at least four weeks, and possibly not until late July or August (The Telegraph)
  6. ‘Rife’ furlough fraud being revealed by whistleblowers – Whistleblowers are unveiling fraud committed by UK employers that have used the furlough scheme to make large sums of money by falsely claiming employees are on furlough (Personnel Today)
  7. Oxford Dean row reignites as trustees calling for his removal say he has ‘lack of moral compass’ – The Dean of Christ Church has been accused of “unsound judgement” and “a consistent lack of moral compass” in an ongoing row with academics at Oxford University (The Telegraph)
  8. Company fined after worker loses thumb – A poultry processing company was fined for safety breaches after an agency worker had her thumb severed on a moving part of a processing line (HSE)
  9. ‘Line of Duty’ cop who probed Stephen Lawrence case sues Met for discrimination and wins – Top Asian policewoman who headed a “Line of Duty” squad set up in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence murder has successfully sued Scotland Yard for racial discrimination. Parm Sandhu, 55, agreed a confidential settlement after she left the Met last year having been cleared of gross misconduct (The Mirror)
  10. Specialist Leisure Group collapses into administration – About 2,500 jobs have been lost and 64,000 bookings cancelled with the collapse into administration of Specialist Leisure Group. The hotel and travel company included well-known coach holiday brands Shearings and National Holidays (BBC)