Employment law stories in the news – 27.09.2021 to 03.10.2021

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news we take a look at ten employment law-related stories which made headlines between 27 September 2021 and 3 October 2021

  1. Company fined after worker paralysed by fall at Watford Football Stadium – A company has been fined after a worker was paralysed after falling 11 metres down a stairwell at a football stadium when the concrete floor he was working on collapsed (HSE)
  2. Homebase worker who was sacked after accusing the hardware store chain of hypnotising its staff loses unfair dismissal claim – A Homebase worker who accused the firm of hypnotising its workers and was later sacked for refusing to work from a different store has lost his claim for unfair dismissal (Daily Mail)
  3. Ex detective’s warning of ‘vulgar and sexist’ WhatsApp group ignored by Met Police bosses – A decorated former Met Police detective wrote to Cressida Dick to warn of a “vulgar and sexist” WhatsApp group like that used by Wayne Couzens – but got no reply (The Mirror)
  4. Sellafield ‘whistleblower’ appeals tribunal verdict – A former Sellafield worker is appealing against an employment tribunal which dismissed claims her contract was terminated unfairly (ITV)
  5. Construction company fined after worker suffered multiple fractures – Britcon (UK) Ltd have been sentenced for safety breaches after a worker was struck by a falling load from a mechanical excavator (HSE)
  6. Morrisons workers win key legal battle in equal pay fight – Thousands of current and former Morrisons shop floor staff are a step closer in their fight for equal pay following a new ruling at an employment tribunal (The Evening Standard)
  7. EAT rules on University of Oxford retirement age policy – The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed two appeals relating to the application Oxford University’s Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) policy (Personnel Today)
  8. Religious bias row charity chief quits – The chairwoman of Scotland’s largest independent grant-making charity has stood down after being found to have discriminated against a former chief executive who opposed gay marriage (The Times)
  9. Flexible working finds support from UK court rulings – Rule changes do not mean employers automatically have to accept requests — but legal landscape is shifting (The Financial Times)
  10. Senior stewardess wins £40,000 sex discrimination payout after British Airways refused to let her work part time when she had a baby because it ‘would hurt staff morale’ – A senior British Airways stewardess has won almost £40,000 after the airline refused to let her work part time after she had a baby, claiming it would hurt staff morale (The Daily Mail)