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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)