Employment law stories in the news – 19.11.2018 to 25.11.2018

In the latest of our series of employment law stories in the news we look at ten employment law stories that have made headlines between 19 November 2018 and 25 November 2018

  1. Logistics company fined after driver suffers crush injuries – A Newport-based logistics company has been fined after a driver was crushed by a full pallet when his lorry was being unloaded. Newport Magistrates’ Court heard how on, 5 May 2017, an employee of Freight Movement Limited was seriously injured when a pallet loaded with 920kg of cardboard packaging toppled from a forklift and landed on him (HSE)
  2. Sacked 88-year-old woman sues the NHS for age discrimination – An 88-year-old secretary has become the oldest person to sue the NHS for age discrimination after she was sacked despite not having a sick day in 10 years (The Telegraph)
  3. Solicitor’s dream career ‘in tatters after law chiefs botch bullying probe’ – A lawyer has told how her career has been left in tatters because senior management mishandled a complaint of workplace bullying. Ceri Evans was one of three women working in a branch of the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office who brought a complaint against the same male boss (The Daily Record)
  4. Sacked Essex chief fire officer lodges pension complaint – A fire service is facing fresh legal action from its former top officer in a dispute over his pension arrangements, the BBC has learned. David Johnson was dismissed by Essex Fire and Rescue Service April 2017 (BBC)
  5. NHS manager awarded £1 million pay-out for unfair dismissal – An IT manager at an NHS trust has been awarded £1m in compensation by an employment tribunal after he was unfairly dismissed. Richard Hastings, who worked for King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was dismissed in October 2015 for gross misconduct following an incident in the car park (Personnel Today)
  6. Car parts manufacturer fined after worker suffers a serious injury – A North East-based car parts manufacturer, SNOP UK Limited, has today been sentenced after a worker was seriously-injured. Sunderland Magistrates’ Court heard that on 26 July 2017 the worker was injured when loading metal components into a robotic cell (HSE)
  7. Berkeley Group bosses were accused of engaging in years of bribery – Bosses at the housebuilding firm Berkeley Group were accused of engaging in years of bribery with a partner at a major estate agent, according to papers filed in a pair of lawsuits brought against Berkeley by a former finance director in 2014 and 2015 (The Guardian)
  8. Cocaine-test bus driver wins unfair dismissal case – A bus driver who was sacked after testing positive for cocaine has won almost £40,000 in compensation at an employment tribunal. Ken Ball, 62, failed a saliva test after a shift in June 2017 but insisted he had never taken drugs other than those prescribed to him (BBC)
  9. Former HRD wins equal pay dispute – An employment tribunal in the UK has ruled in favour of a former Co-operative Group executive who filed an equal pay and unfair dismissal claim against the group (HCA Mag)
  10. Royal Academy of Music was wrong to sack professor, 59, for calling violinists ‘gypos’ in email to 800 students, tribunal rules – A professor was wrongly sacked by the Royal Academy of Music after she referred to violinists as ‘gypos’ in her lecture notes which were shared on social media, an employment tribunal heard (The Mail Online)