Employment law stories in the news – 29.12.2014 to 04.01.2015

redmans-blog-newsIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news this week, we take a look at seven employment law stories that have made headlines between 29 December 2014 and 4 January 2015.

  1. Taxpayers face bill for City Link redundancies – The private equity dealmaker who failed to turn round City Link has been forced on the defensive as it emerged taxpayers will pick up the redundancy bill for the 2,760 workers who are expected to lose their jobs at the parcel delivery business (The Financial Times)
  2. Brent Council lose bid to overturn racial discrimination ruling – Brent Council has lost its bid to overturn a tribunal ruling which found it guilty of racial discrimination and victimisation against a former black employee (The Kilburn Times)
  3. Calls for review of “catastrophic” employment tribunal fees – Lawyers have called on the Scottish Government to review “catastrophic” employment tribunal fees if the system is devolved as part of the Smith Agreement. The fees, introduced on July 29 last year (2013), have resulted in a substantial drop in the number of employment tribunals – prompting claims they are denying workers access to justice (Herald Scotland)
  4. City Link workers made redundant after consortium’s bid is rejected – More than 2,300 City Link workers who discovered their employer was going bust on Christmas Day were made redundant on New Year’s Eve. The administrators of the delivery company owned by multimillionaire Tory donor Jon Moulton made 2,356 employees redundant at 4.30pm on Wednesday (The Guardian)
  5. Conservatives would cap redundancy payouts for NHS, BBC and civil service – The Conservatives would stop public sector workers in the NHS, BBC and civil service getting six-figure redundancy packages if they win the election, the party will say on Saturday. In a new manifesto pledge, the Tories will commit to capping payouts at less than £95,000 (The Guardian)
  6. Nurse wins disability discrimination case – A nurse who suffers from mental health problems has won his case for disability discrimination against Scotland’s national hospital. Andrew Macintosh was discriminated against by bosses at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank because he suffers from Schizoaffective Disorder – a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder (Herald Scotland)
  7. Hospital is taken to the High Court by angry surgeon – Hard-up Milton Keynes hospital has been forced to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a legal battle with a suspended surgeon. Talib Al-Mishlab was suspended almost four years ago after complaints from his patients (Milton Keynes Citizen)