Employment law stories in the news – 19.07.2021 to 25.07.2021

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 have made headlines between 19 July 2021 and 25 July 2021

  1. Rotherham company fined after worker suffered chemical burns – Granville Oil & Chemical Company Ltd has been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker suffered chemical burns to both arms and one leg (HSE)
  2. Male directors win sex discrimination case following ad agency’s ’embarrassing’ gender pay gap – Two men made redundant after voicing concerns at an advertising agency’s intention to “obliterate” its “Knightsbridge boys club” reputation in light of a damning gender pay gap have won their sex discrimination case (Personnel Today)
  3. Woman sacked while pregnant wins £65k payout after boss moaned about her days off with morning sickness – A woman who was sacked while pregnant because she took days off with morning sickness has been awarded £65,000 in compensation (The Sun)
  4. Employee wins £42,000 after boss fires him and takes away company car – A former business manager has won £42,000 after his boss fired him moments after asking how much he liked his company car (The Mirror)
  5. Government to introduce duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment – Employers could be legally required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment at work under new reforms proposed by the government (People Management)
  6. Westcliff sales manager wins £5k sexual harassment claim – A sales manager who was told to “stand in a bikini to increase sales” and called “my b****” by a colleague has won a £5,000 pay out (The Gazette)
  7. Teacher fired for too many sick days when pupils’ deodorant gave her asthma attacks – A teacher was unfairly dismissed for her sickness record after suffering asthma attacks when schoolkids sprayed their deodorants (The Metro)
  8. Teacher fired after telling Ofsted misbehaving kids ‘hidden away’ wins £50,000 payout – A teacher who was sacked after revealing that naughty children were kept ‘hidden away on squash courts’ during an Ofsted inspection has won £50,000 in compensation (The Mirror)
  9. Economist sues Cambridge University saying it retracted job offer because he believes ‘big banks are a cancer on society’ – An economist is suing the University of Cambridge after it retracted a job offer, claiming it was over his belief ‘big banks are a cancer on society’ (The Daily Mail)
  10. Two men win sex discrimination case after female boss vowed to “obliterate” firm’s image of straight, white males – Two ad agency directors have won sex discrimination claims after a female boss vowed to “obliterate” its image of being full of straight, white men (The Sun)