Employment law stories in the news – 28.06.2021 to 04.07.2021

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 made headlines between 28 June 2021 and 4 July 2021

1. Billionaire arms dealer, 56, is ordered to pay his ex-lover more than £120,000 after he sacked her when she refused to become his ‘sex slave’ – A billionaire arms dealer has been ordered to pay his ex-girlfriend more than £120,000 after sacking her when she refused to become his ‘sex slave’ (Daily Mail)
2. Holiday pay does not accrue on furlough, tribunal rules – A contractor did not accrue holiday pay while on furlough last year, an employment tribunal (ET) has ruled, in a case that promises to offer certainty around management of people placed on the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) (People Management)
3. Gay worker who suffered harassment at Northern Gas & Power awarded £35,000 – A gay energy specialist has been awarded £35,000 after his boss declared that he would start a “Straight Pride” event because he was fed up with homosexuals “rubbing it in his face” (The Times)
4. Contractor loses accrued holiday pay furlough claim – A contractor has been unsuccessful at court in trying to claim against his recruitment agency that holiday pay accrued to him and was owed while he was on furlough (Contactor UK)
5. Payout for former judge Peter Herbert in race discrimination claim – The first judge to sue the senior judiciary for alleged race discrimination has settled a claim with the Ministry of Justice for an undisclosed sum (The Times)
6. Consultant calls for reforms to GMC’s discriminatory disciplinary process – Omer Karim, a consultant urologist, lost his job, private practice and international reputation after being investigated by the General Medical Council (GMC), the body that regulates medics in England and Wales (The Times)
7. Sellafield HR boss took ‘no action’ over harassment claims – The HR director at the Sellafield nuclear site took “no action” following allegations of sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has been told (BBC)
8. Employment tribunal dismisses sexual harassment claims against Linklaters – Sexual harassment accusations brought by a former temporary employee against Linklaters have been dismissed by an employment tribunal. The claimant, Ms F Imran, had alleged she was subject to sexual harassment when working at Linklaters between December 2018 and February 2019 (City AM)
9. MP denied maternity cover threatens legal action – Labour MP Stella Creasy is threatening to take legal action against the body that regulates MP’s pay and expenses after being told she cannot hire a ‘locum MP’ to cover her maternity leave (Personnel Today)
10. Manufacturing company fined after workers exposed to asbestos – Power Link Machines (UK) Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was informed the company was using gaskets within its generator sets that contained asbestos (HSE)