Employment law stories in the news – 22.03.2021 to 28.03.2021

In the latest of our series of employment law stories in the news we take a look at ten employment law stories that made headlines between 22 March 2021 and 28 March 2021

  1. Muslim banker who made Christmas Day work calls was unfairly dismissed, says employment tribunal – A Muslim banker who lost his £130,000 job after emailing and calling his bosses on Christmas Day was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled (Brinkwire)
  2. Glasgow bookkeeper awarded £40k payout after being ‘sacked for humming & boss falsely accused her of being drunk’ – A Glasgow bookkeeper has won £40,000 after her boss complained about her humming while making a cup of tea and falsely accused her of being drunk at work (The Scottish Sun)
  3. Asda loses appeal over equal pay for female shop workers – Asda has lost a legal battle against female store workers calling for the same pay as their male colleagues in distribution depots (The Times)
  4. Law Society victimisation claim struck out over volunteer status – A solicitor has had her claim for victimisation by the Law Society struck out by an employment tribunal on the basis that, as the chair of a committee, she was not an employee or office-holder (Legal Futures)
  5. University warden sacked for ‘aggressive’ text messages was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules – A lecturer accused of sending “aggressive” messages to colleagues has been awarded £15,000 for unfair dismissal after an employment tribunal ruled there had not been a proper investigation into the allegations made against him (People Management)
  6. Being called ‘immature’ at work is not age discrimination, tribunal rules – Being called immature at work is not age discrimination, a tribunal has ruled, after a 36-year-old city director sued his employers for sacking him due to his “youth” (The Telegraph)
  7. Senior civil servant landed bumper £185,000-a-year pay packet because she is black, tribunal finds – A senior civil servant landed a bumper pay packet because she is black, an employment judge has concluded. HM Inspector of Police Wendy Williams was paid £185,000 a year to avoid any suggestion of discrimination, Judge Richard Nicolle found (The Sun)
  8. Government reviewing whistleblowing rules amid record pandemic sackings – Whistleblowing rules for workers are to be reviewed by the Government amid record numbers of employees claiming they were fired for speaking up during the pandemic (The Telegraph)
  9. BBC Moneybox exposes FCSA umbrella accused of withholding £000’s from contractors – An umbrella company holding Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) membership has been accused of withholding thousands of pounds of holiday pay from contractors, BBC’s Moneybox has revealed (Contractor Calculator)
  10. Personal trainer afraid of sweat wins disability claim after refusing to pick up used towels at gym – A personal trainer who is afraid of sweat won a disability claim after she refused to pick up used towels at a gym. Ali Burton, 27, told managers that contact with bodily fluids could start panic attacks and emotional upset (The Sun)