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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Sellafield ‘whistleblower’ appeals tribunal verdict – A former Sellafield worker is appealing against an employment tribunal which dismissed claims her contract was terminated unfairly (ITV)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)