Employment law stories in the news this week – 11.12.2017 to 17.12.2017

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at nine employment law stories that have made headlines between 11 December and 17 December 2017

  1. Direct race discrimination: Withdrawal of job offer based on “tainted” psychological assessment – The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the employer subjected the claimant to direct race discrimination. The employer withdrew its offer to the claimant of a posting abroad because of a psychological assessment that warned the claimant could suffer stress as a result of racial discrimination (XpertHR)
  2. Port company fined after 600kg bag falls on employee – A port company was sentenced for safety breaches after a bag of fertiliser fell and struck an employee. Ipswich Magistrates’ Court heard how a 600kg flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) bag of Ammonium Nitrate fell onto an employee as he was removing pallets from the front of a stack (HSE)
  3. Government fights back in judges’ pension row – The Employment Appeal Tribunal has begun hearing the government’s challenge to a ruling that its transitional pension arrangements for 210 judges amount to unlawful age discrimination (The Law Society Gazette)
  4. Engineering firm ordered to pay £420,000 in compensation to workers after losing appeal – A South Yorkshire electrical firm has been ordered to pay £420,000 to 56 workers after losing its appeal at an employment appeal tribunal in London. Fifty six workers at Kostal UK were granted £420, 000 by a Sheffield employment tribunal in February (The Business Desk)
  5. Unfairly dismissed council boss awarded £94,000 – A former council boss who was unfairly dismissed from her role with a North East authority has been awarded £94,000 in compensation. Karen Whitmore was made redundant from her role as assistant director of organisation and governance with Middlesbrough Council in June 2016 (BBC)
  6. Long-serving employee with sleep disorder was unfairly dismissed after disclosing condition – Employer disregarded claimant’s health, possible alternative roles and long service, tribunal finds. An employee with 23 years’ “loyal” service who was sacked a month after telling his employer that he suffered from a sleep breathing disorder was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled (CIPD)
  7. Employment tribunal cases ‘double’ since Unison judgment – The number of employment tribunal claims being brought has doubled in some areas since the Supreme Court declared the government’s tribunal fees unlawful, users have reported (The Law Society Gazette)
  8. Employee told to ‘go back to Poland’ suffered direct race discrimination – A worker who was told he should ‘go back to Poland’ by a colleague was the victim of direct race discrimination, for which his employer was liable, a tribunal has ruled (CIPD)
  9. North West farmers fined after man electrocuted – North West farmers have been fined after a man was electrocuted when the arm of a loader crane hit overhead power lines. Liverpool Crown Court heard today that Edward Evans and his friend had been collecting scrap metal from the farm by prior arrangement when the incident took place (HSE)