Employment tribunal cases in the news this week – 10.02.2014 to 16.02.2014

MoJIn the latest of our series of posts on employment tribunal cases in the news this week, we take a look at ten employment tribunal cases that have made the news between 10 February 2014 and 16 February 2014.

  1. Homeserve worker claims he was sacked over whistle-blowing threat – A sacked Homeserve employee has taken the domestic disaster insurer to tribunal claiming he was unfairly dismissed when he threatened to blow the whistle on the mis-selling of policies at the firm. The company, which covers customers against the risk of leaky pipes and faulty boilers, was handed a fine of £30.6 million this week for the aggressive selling of policies before 2011 following an investigation by City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (The Birmingham Mail)
  2. Garbhan Downey loses unfair dismissal case – The sacked director of communications and marketing for Londonderry’s Culture Company has lost an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal. Garbhan Downey was sacked for gross misconduct in January 2013 (BBC)
  3. Perth care home ordered to pay £7,200 in compensation to ex-employee – A Perth care home has unfairly dismissed a former employee and been ordered to pay her more than £7,200 in compensation. An employment tribunal upheld the claim of Caroline MacDonald of St John Street against Lorraine Caddell of St Johnstoun’s Nursing Home, Barossa Place (The Courier)
  4. Sellafield is ordered to pay £22,000 to bipolar man – Sellafield has been ordered to pay £22,431 compensation after refusing to employ a man with bipolar disorder. Steven Larg was one of 7,000 people who applied for 200 operatives vacancies at the nuclear plant in 2012. He was successful in getting through to the final stages of the recruitment process where he was given a conditional job offer (The North West Evening Mail)
  5. Dismissal leads to £7k award – An Alnwick mum, who claimed she was sacked for ‘having too much time off due to being pregnant’, has been awarded more than £7,000 at an employment tribunal. Jordanna Sweeney decided to take the case to court after she was dismissed from her job at an Alnwick bar and hotel in June last year while she was pregnant (The Northumberland Gazette)
  6. Former firefighter loses unfair dismissal claim – A former firefighter who had claimed he was bullied at work has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. Tristan Jones, from Kidwelly, had brought the claim following his dismissal from Mid and West Fire and Rescue Service last year (The South Wales Evening Post)
  7. Michelle Mone ‘made life hell for staff who got on her wrong side’ – An accountant claiming constructive dismissal against bra boss Michelle Mone’s company claimed “staff who got on the wrong side of her had their lives made hell”. Hugh McGinley who worked for MJM International for six years before resigning, claiming pressure and stress, was giving evidence for a second day at a tribunal in Glasgow (STV)
  8. HGV driver loses claim for unfair dismissal – A former HGV driver at Middleton’s biggest employer has failed in an unfair dismissal claim against his former bosses. At an employment tribunal last week John Reeves claimed staff at the former Middleton Two Wincanton warehouse were forced out after Eddie Stobart took over a distribution contract for Tesco in March 2010 (The Manchester Evening News)
  9. Redundant Comet workers launch compensation battle – Hundreds of sacked Comet workers across the West Midlands have launched a battle for compensation more than a year after the chain collapsed. Just before Christmas 2012, a total of 6,661 Comet staff were sacked when administrators Deloitte announced the closure of the company, including all 195 stores, offices and distribution centres (The Birmingham Post)
  10. Royal Shrewsbury Hospital misled employment tribunal judges – One witness called on behalf of the hospital was said to be “totally incredible and unreliable” as the hospital’s defence collapsed. Leslie Small, 58, of Holyhead Road, Wellington, had raised concerns about damaged asbestos panels in residential quarters used by staff at the RSH before being dismissed in July 2012 (The Shropshire Star)