Employment law stories in the news – 18.10.2021 to 24.10.2021

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 18 October 2021 and 24 October 2021

  1. Mother sacked by HR firm while on maternity leave and told to ‘go to the Jobcentre’ awarded £50k by tribunal – A mother who was dismissed two months after giving birth and told to ‘go to the Jobcentre’ for money has been awarded more than £50,000 for pregnancy and maternity discrimination by an employment tribunal (People Management)
  2. Informatica UKI veep was rightfully sacked over Highways England $5k golf jolly, says tribunal – Informatica’s former UK & Ireland vice president was correctly sacked after letting a salesman take Highways England’s executive IT director on a $5,000 golfing jaunt, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled (The Register)
  3. Car company fined after employee crushed at work – A car manufacturing company has been fined after an employee became trapped and suffered crush injuries whilst unloading a chassis from a delivery vehicle (HSE)
  4. Ex-stripper drops ET claim after being refused right to anonymity – An employment appeal tribunal has effectively ended a claim after refusing to accede to a party’s wish to stay anonymous (The Law Society Gazette)
  5. Woman wins £23,000 after fast food restaurant boss ‘asked her for strip show’ – A fast food restaurant worker has won a pay out of over £23,000 after her manager told her to take her clothes off and perform a strip show for him, an employment tribunal heard (The Mirror)
  6. Golf club must pay £14,000 after greenkeeper forced out of job – A golf club has been ordered to pay almost £14,000 to a greenkeeper who claimed he had been a victim of bullying (The Times)
  7. Disabled man wins tribunal after boss said he was too slow in fire drill – A disabled IT manager has won a discrimination claim after his boss moaned he was too ‘slow’ in evacuating the office during a fire drill (Wales Online)
  8. Disabled IT manager discriminated against because of need to work from home – A disabled IT manager who was treated unfavourably because he often needed to work from home to manage his condition was discriminated against by his employer, a tribunal has found (Personnel Today)
  9. Purplebricks faces legal action from agents over holiday and pension pay – More than 100 estate agents are preparing to take legal action against Purplebricks, arguing they are entitled to holiday pay and pension contributions because they effectively worked for the company despite being classed as self-employed (Financial Times)
  10. Lincolnshire food manufacturer fined after employee crushed in cooking machine – A Lincolnshire-based food manufacturer has been fined after one of its employees sustained two broken ribs having been crushed within an industrial cooking machine whilst working to clear a blocked water inlet (HSE)