Employment law stories in the news – 21.06.2021 to 27.06.2021

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 the headlines between 21 June 2021 and 27 June 2021

  1. Nurse sacked for refusing to work weekends wins tribunal appeal – An employment tribunal failed to take into account the “childcare disparity” faced by women when it said a nurse was not unfairly dismissed because she was unable to work weekends, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled (People Management)
  2. Sellafield HR boss tells tribunal mistrust ended contract – A director at the Sellafield nuclear site accused of ending a consultant’s contract because she was a whistleblower said she made the decision because of “mistrust” (BBC)
  3. ‘Disruptive’ colleague suing firm for £75k over claims boss ‘stood too close to her’ – An ‘ex-employee’ is suing a Magic Circle legal firm for more than £75,000 after a senior lawyer “stood too close to her in an office” (The Express)
  4. NHS gender clinic ‘running conversion therapy for gay children’ – A psychologist who worked at the NHS’s only gender transition clinic for children spoke of his fears that it was running ‘conversion therapy for gay kids’. Dr Matt Bristow said he feared the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust was ignoring the possibility that boys and girls who said they wanted to change sex might be gay (Metro)
  5. Council worker who was sacked for using N-word on training course despite being told it was a ‘safe space’ wins unfair dismissal case – A council worker who was sacked for using the N-word on an anti-radicalisation training course has won a claim for unfair dismissal. Ian Stevenson used the racial epithet after being asked to give an example of racism that he had witnessed (Daily Mail)
  6. Judge right to break up vulnerable claimant’s evidence, appeal rules – A tribunal panel’s decision to press on with a hearing, meaning a vulnerable claimant could not complete her evidence in a single day, did not render proceedings unfair, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found (Law Society Gazette)
  7. Receptionist who’s scared of the public wins payout – An NHS receptionist who was sacked after she told bosses she was scared of patients has been awarded £56,000. Sacramenta D’Silva claimed that she suffered from “public phobia” and was “petrified” of working behind the front desk at a clinic in south London (The Times)
  8. HSBC manager who failed her six-month probation sues because colleagues used ‘sexist’ term ‘teaching grandma to suck eggs’ – An HSBC manager is suing the bank for discrimination after claiming that the use of the phrase ‘teaching a grandma to suck eggs’ is sexist (Mail Online)
  9. General Medical Council institutionally racist, says surgeon – Medical regulators are “institutionally racist” and view ethnic minority doctors as easy targets for disciplinary action, a surgeon who won a landmark discrimination ruling has said (The Times)
  10. British Airways PLC fined after employee sustained serious crush injuries in a vehicle collision – British Airways Plc has been fined following a vehicle collision at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. Southwark Crown Court heard that on 16 March 2018, an employee was struck by a tug pulling a train of dollies (vehicles used to transport baggage around the airport) (HSE)