Employment law stories in the news – 21.05.2018 to 28.05.2018

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at ten employment law stories which have made headlines between 21 May and 28 May 2018

  1. Judicial hiring spree as tribunal cases soar – HM Judiciary is to recruit more than 50 employment judges to cope with the soaring caseload in employment tribunals and will, for the first time, open the role to those without previous judicial experience (The Law Society Gazette)
  2. Poundland shop manager accused of stealing drink wins £20,000 at tribunal – A Poundland store manager was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed when she was fired for allegedly stealing a drink, Norwich Employment Tribunal has ruled (People Management)
  3. Uber gives drivers sick pay and parental leave – Ride-hailing firm Uber will give its European drivers access to medical cover and compensation for work-related injuries. The new protections include sick pay, parental leave and bereavement payments (BBC)
  4. Met chief wins £870,000 after being hounded out of job by ‘sexist’ female boss trying to abolish ‘macho culture’ – A decorated Chief Inspector has been awarded £870,000 by the Metropolitan Police after he was hounded out of his job by a female boss who was intent on ridding his squad of a perceived macho culture (The Telegraph)
  5. Sellafield charged over ‘employee contamination’ – The world’s largest nuclear waste storage and reprocessing site has been charged with safety and health offences after a worker was exposed to radiation (IOSH Magazine)
  6. Ex-Maccreanor Lavington chief takes practice to tribunal for unfair dismissal – A former director responsible for schools projects at Maccreanor Lavington has taken the practice to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal and disability discrimination (Architects Journal)
  7. Former Gelpack workers in line for compensation – Workers who lost their jobs when a Hereford packaging firm went into administration last year are on in line for up to £80,000 in compensation (Hereford Times)
  8. Payout for headteacher Derek Curran who was unfairly sacked amid sex abuse claim – A headteacher who was sacked after becoming embroiled in child sex abuse allegations has won his case for unfair dismissal. Derek Curran was accused of having an affair with an underage girl and fathering a child with her in a complex case involving lengthy investigations by the police, the teaching regulatory body and his employers (Herald Scotland)
  9. RAF Museum ordered to pay almost £50k to unfairly dismissed ex-employee – After a tribunal hearing, the judge said the charity put Colin Reilly in a ‘pistol-to-the-head’ situation by asking him to resign or accept a radically different new role (The Third Sector)
  10. ‘Whistleblower’ taped to chair and gagged – A woman who complained of a racist and misogynistic culture in a Scottish government department claims she was taped to a chair and gagged by two male colleagues as a warning to keep quiet. DeeAnn Fitzpatrick said the restraint took place amid years of bullying and harassment at Marine Scotland’s Scrabster office (BBC)