Employment law stories in the news – 22.02.2016 to 28.02.2016

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 news between 22 February and 28 February 2016

1. Waste Management firm in court after young man crushed to death – Derbyshire waste firm Rainbow Waste Management Limited has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker was crushed by the bucket of a motorised loading shovel (HSE)
2. Oil tycoon accused of ‘lying’ over worker’s dismissal – Oil tycoon Ian Suttie has been branded a liar over his involvement in the dismissal of a former employee who raised concerns over “irregular payments”. Michael Gough, a former commercial director at First Integrated Solutions, was constructively dismissed by the firm and has been awarded £78,000 by an employment tribunal (Herald Scotland)
3. Exposing NHS crisis wrecked my career, says junior doctor who believes there is too little protection for whistleblowers – A junior doctor who raised concerns over staffing levels claims his career has been ruined by a lack of protection for whistleblowers. Dr Chris Day was working overnight in January 2014 when two locum doctors failed to turn up. He had to cover other wards and A&E and reported his concerns to managers (The Daily Mail)
4. Privately educated elite continues to take top jobs, finds survey – A privately educated elite continues to dominate the UK’s leading professions, taking top jobs in fields as diverse as the law, politics, medicine and journalism, according to new research (The Guardian)
5. Religious dress at work: ECJ to hear Muslim headscarf cases – What should an employer do if a third party objects to an employee wearing religious dress while working on the third party’s premises? In March, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is to consider this issue in two controversial cases on Muslim women wearing Islamic headscarves (hijabs) at work (Personnel Today)
6. Smiler crash: Alton Towers owner to be prosecuted – The owner of Alton Towers is to be prosecuted over the Smiler rollercoaster crash which left five people seriously injured.
   Two women lost a leg and three others were seriously injured when their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track last year (BBC)
7. Workers’ rights are on the line in EU referendum, warns TUC – Workers’ rights enshrined in European Union law could come under attack following a Brexit vote, the Trades Union Congress has warned, as it sought to shore up support among union members for staying inside the 28-country bloc (The Guardian)
8. EAT ruling on results-based commission and holiday pay – The UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down its judgement in an appeal by British Gas (BG) in the case against its former employee Joe Lock and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills[1]. The EAT confirmed that results-based commissions should be included in the pay of employees in respect of their four week basic statutory holiday entitlement (Lexology)
9. Union granted challenge to employment tribunal fees move – Supreme Court justices have granted Unison permission to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling which went against it in August last year over the introduction of employment tribunal fees (Express & Star)
10. Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon – Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Top Gear producer he punched after settling a £100,000 racial discrimination and injury claim. Oisin Tymon launched the action against the presenter and the BBC after a “fracas” last March that left Mr Tymon with a bloody lip (BBC)