Employment tribunal cases in the news this week – 24.02.2014 to 02.03.2014

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 and employment appeal tribunal cases that have made the news between 24 February and 2 March 2014.

  1. Black judge claims race discrimination because he is ‘paid less than some of his white colleagues’ – A black part-time judge is suing the Government for race discrimination, claiming he has been paid less than some of his white colleagues. Anthony Thake, a Parole Board judge, and a magistrate, says he is paid £135 less than his senior white counterparts for each parole case he hears and claims that after hearing 189 cases in the past two years the Government has underpaid him £25,582.50 (The Mail Online)
  2. Ex-ABN Amro Lawyer Sues for Bias Over Black Sheep Remark – ABN Amro Group NV’s former top lawyer in the U.K. sued the Dutch lender for race discrimination over her treatment by an executive who allegedly said “let’s talk about all things black” and claimed he couldn’t see her in a photograph (Bloomberg)
  3. Female gun cop from elite Met unit sues Yard for alleged race and gender discrimination – Scotland Yard’s elite unit at the centre of the Plebgate scandal was today facing fresh controversy as it emerged a black woman officer is suing for alleged racial discrimination. Carol Howard, 34, a Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG) firearms officer, who helped safeguard London from terror attacks during the Olympics and protects senior politicians, government buildings and foreign embassies in London, claims her career has been held back (The Evening Standard)
  4. Ludlow council ‘draws line’ after clerk payout – A town council has said it wants to “draw a line” under a dispute with its former town clerk which resulted in a £74,000 payout for her unfair dismissal. Veronica Calderbank won her claim against Ludlow Town Council at the end of a month-long employment tribunal hearing at the end of last year (The Shropshire Star)
  5. Former worker wins victimisation ruling over negative reference – Employers who unfairly give former employees bad references could face damages claims in the wake of a ruling regarding an Oxfordshire man.On Wednesday three appeal judges ruled in favour of car body repairer Pat Jessemey, who had worked in a car sales and repair business in Rowstock, near Didcot until three years ago (The Oxford Mail)
  6. South Lanarkshire Council settles equal pay dispute – South Lanarkshire Council has settled a long-running equal pay dispute involving more than 3,000 people. Current and former female employees argued that they were earning less than men in comparable, but different, jobs (BBC)
  7. Michelle Mone’s lingerie firm loses Scott Kilday tribunal – A director who left Michelle Mone’s lingerie firm MJM International after discovering his office had been bugged has won his case for unfair dismissal. Scott Kilday, 35, walked out when he found a listening device in his office (BBC)
  8. Whistle-blower has not received a penny of £26,000 compensation awarded by tribunal – A whistle-blower who won an unfair dismissal case after raising health and safety concerns at work has yet to receive a penny of the £26,000 compensation he was awarded by an employment tribunal. Mohammed Jahangir started working as a machine operator for a company called Sim Felt Ltd in March 2004, which manufactured felting material for covering springs in sofas and beds (The Telepgraph & Argus)
  9. Council worker who was sacked after leaking information which lead to 11 sackings and criminal charges, waits three years for employment tribunal – A whistleblower who was sacked after he exposed a huge public property repairs scandal has been unable to fight his case for more than three years. The 50-year-old man was suspended by bosses at Edinburgh City Council in October 2010 for leaking information when he reported fears over mismanagement and corruption (The Daily Record)
  10. Tonbridge man sacked from Nizels golf club given £52k payout – A Tonbridge man sacked for being ‘too old’ has received a bumper payout. David Ells, 55, of Somerhill Road, was awarded £52,200 after he was fired from Nizels Golf Club in Hildenborough (The Kent and Sussex Courier)