Employment tribunal cases in the news – 12.05.2014 to 18.05.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment tribunal cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment tribunal (and Employment Appeal Tribunal) cases that have made the news this week (12 May to 18 May 2014)

  1. Annabel Karmel employee drops claim he was fired for rejecting her advances – Annabel Karmel, the celebrity children’s chef, only hired “good-looking men” and fired an employee 20 years her junior after he rejected her sexual advances, an employment tribunal heard (The Telegraph)
  2. Employment Appeal Tribunal rejects final appeal in Seldon case – Former Clarkson Wright & Jakes partner Leslie Seldon has pursued a seven-year legal battle against his former firm, which included a trip to the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the Employment Appeal Tribunal signalled the end of the road for the case (The Lawyer)
  3. Employment Tribunal rules that workers at Sitel call centre in Accrington were unfairly dismissed – Workers at an Accrington call centre were unfairly dismissed, a judge has ruled. Sitel UK closed its operation at the Globe Centre on November 2011 with the loss of 250 jobs (The Accrington Observer)
  4. Former council manager sues for discrimination – A former Brent Council manager claims she was discriminated against by superiors and “bullied and undermined” despite her years of experience (Get West London)
  5. Former MAG staff win £42k payout – Three former employees of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) have won over £42,000 following their resignations. James Tyson, former campaign co-ordinator, Nicholas Brown, who used to be general secretary, and former employee Louisa Smith lodged a claim for constructive unfair dismissal at Birmingham Employment Tribunal, citing allegations of bullying and intimidation, Motorcycle News reports (Motorbike Times)
  6. BBC producer who suffers from bipolar disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia is suing after she was fired because of ‘behavioural issues’, tribunal hears – A sacked BBC producer who says she applied to the corporation on a scheme for the disabled is suing for disability discrimination after bosses claimed they were unaware of her mental health issues (Mail Online)
  7. Director of insolvent company was entitled to redundancy award, rules Employment Appeal Tribunal – The director of a failed company can be entitled to a redundancy payment as an ’employee’, depending on the facts of the particular case, the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said (Out-Law.com)
  8. Ex-Walsall Council boss in sex prejudice case – A former council boss who has launched a sex discrimination claim against a Black Country authority after being sacked claims he was treated differently to senior female managers and that he has been the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ (The Express & Star)
  9. Stourbridge detective turned civilian police worker wins claim for unfair dismissal – A retired Stourbridge detective who was given a civilian staff job with West Midlands Police and then lost it to help the force save £38 million has won a legal claim for unfair dismissal after a 15-month fight (Stourbridge News)
  10. Sacked CTO Linwood planned Deutsche Bank move before BBC axed DMI – John Linwood, the former chief technology officer (CTO) who was sacked over the BBC’s failed Digital Media Initiative (DMI) project, had been planning to leave the organisation for a job at Deutsche Bank, it has emerged (Computer World UK)