Employment law stories in the news this week – 17.03.2014 to 23.03.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment law stories that have made the news between 17 March and 23 March 2014.

  1. Fee deterrent sends employment claims plummeting – Employment tribunal claims plummeted in the last quarter of 2013, reflecting the impact of the introduction of tribunal fees in July, figures published today reveal. The number of claims fell 79% in the final quarter of last year to 9,801 compared with the same period in 2012, and dropped 75% on the third quarter of 2013 (The Law Society Gazette)
  2. 4,000 NHS managers given pay-offs have been rehired after the government ‘handed out cheques like confetti’ – Almost 4,000 NHS staff given redundancy pay-offs as part of the coalition’s health shake-up have been rehired, new figures reveal. More than one in six managers and administrators given payouts worth as much as £650,000 are now back working in the health service (The Mail Online)
  3. Wm Morrison employee arrested after payroll data theft – Morrisons has confirmed that one of its employees has been arrested following the theft last Thursday of payroll data covering the majority of its staff. The Bradford-based supermarket chain said it would continue to work with the police following the arrest (BBC)
  4. Manager called employee ‘pissy pants’ after being told of bladder infection, employment tribunal told – A manager called a female sales executive “pissy pants” and told her she was up all night having sex after she informed him about her bladder problem, an employment tribunal has heard (The Independent)
  5. Clyde & Co alleged whistleblower case to see Supreme Court decide if partners are afforded protection – The Supreme Court will next week preside over a precedent-setting case to decide if partners of limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are entitled to whistle blower protection, following a claim brought by former Clyde & Co partner Krista Bates van Winkelhof (Legal Business)
  6. Firms warned over zero hour contracts – Employers using zero hours contracts should immediately review them amid growing concerns about their controversial terms and conditions. That is the warning from Dorset law firm Coles Miller, which says the “social tide is turning” against the contracts (The Bournemouth Echo)
  7. My sex pest complaints were ignored, says executive – A female sales executive who faced demands for sex from her boss on her second day at work has told an employment tribunal how her complaints were ignored by the company. Anna Mazover, 29, claims she was told by sales director Darren Scott that it was no use complaining about him because he was the “most important” person at the publishing firm, Entico Corporation Ltd (The Daily Telegraph)
  8. Law Society earnings report finds gender pay gap widens in private practice – The gender pay gap for the solicitors’ profession has increased, with women’s salaries on average 30 per cent lower across all areas of private practice during 2013 (Politics Home)
  9. Disclosure and Barring Service error leads to unnecessary disclosure of sensitive information – The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled that the Disclosure and Barring Service breached the Data Protection Act after failing to stop the collection of information about low level convictions that was no longer required for employment checks (ICO)
  10. Dorset machining company fined after employee suffers bruising – A Ferndown-based machined components and engineering company has been prosecuted for failing to guard dangerous parts of machinery after a worker was struck and injured by a metal clamp and workpiece (HSE)