Employment law cases in the news – 08.06.2015 to 14.06.2015
In the latest of our series of posts on employment law cases in the news, we take a look at ten employment law cases that have made the news between 8 June and 15 June 2015
- Charity director denies plotting against parents of murdered schoolgirl – A director at a charity for bereaved families has denied trying to oust the parents of murdered schoolgirl Amanda Duffy in order to secure a highly-paid job for her boyfriend. Lesley Carmody told an employment tribunal that she “respected” Joe and Kate Duffy, who founded Petal (People Experiencing Trauma and Loss), and denied allegations she had them removed to help her partner Neil Moore, now chief executive of the charity (Herald Scotland)
- Farmer charged as worker seriously injured in fall through roof – Farmer James Brown has been fined after health and safety breaches led to a worker being seriously injured after he fell through a roof he was working on at Mr Brown’s farm. The Health and Safety Executive successfully prosecuted James Brown at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court (HSE)
- Rogue Taunton boss who took £24,000 taxpayers’ cash ordered to pay worker £6,000 – A D-I-Y lawyer has won almost £6,000 from a rogue businessman who disappeared after taking £24,000 from the taxpayer and then failed to pay his staff. Warren Grimes read up on employment law to take on Chris Ward, who hired 18 staff to man a call centre he set up in Taunton (Thisisthewestcountry.co.uk)
- Dave Sutton from Volksline garage in Canterbury says losing tribunal will ruin him – The boss of a Canterbury garage which lost an employment tribunal following claims it overcharged customers has told how the case exposed him to vandalism and threats of violence. Dave Sutton found graffiti on his van and was told he would be beaten up after the conclusion of the case involving Volksline of Broad Oak Road in December last year (Kent Online)
- Total fined over worker’s burns in molten sulphur – The Total Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Lincolnshire has been fined after a worker suffered serious burns when he stepped into an open manway lid and hit molten sulphur below. Grimsby Magistrates heard that tanker driver Jack Vickers, 51, from Immingham, had just finished loading the dangerous substance into the vehicle and was attempting to detach the special loading lance from a loading arm when his foot went into the open lid and into the tanker (HSE)
- Former electrician on industry blacklist offered £60,000 payout – A former electrician on an industry blacklist has been offered £60,000 in compensation, 37 years after his name was written on the secret file. The man, who lives in Scotland and is in his 70s, wants to accept the money, even though his union believes he is entitled to more than £320,000 because of the way his career was affected (The Guardian)
- Sacked Moray distillery worker wrote ‘why bother?’ on management memo – A distillery worker wrote sarcastic notes on management memos and told his boss he was “not needed” by the firm. Malcolm MacDonald also told an employment tribunal yesterday that he kept production going at the Glen Moray plant on “numerous occasions” (Press and Journal)
- Victory for sacked Christian nanny who called lesbian sinful – A devout Christian nursery worker who was sacked for telling a lesbian colleague that homosexuality is a sin has won a landmark discrimination claim against her employer. Sarah Mbuyi was dismissed from the Newpark Childcare nursery in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, for gross misconduct after telling her colleague, who was in a civil partnership, that, “God is not okay with what you do (The Sunday Times)
- Dog handler wins employment tribunal case after he ‘refused to abuse his dog’ – A trainee dog handler who claims he was fired for refusing to “punch and choke” animals has won an unfair dismissal payout. David Ormsby says he suffered “15 months of hell” at the hands of his employers because he refused to abuse his dog (The Mirror)
- Nurse who claimed boss kissed her wins tribunal – A nurse at an Inverness care home has been awarded almost £10,000 compensation after an employment tribunal upheld her claim that she was sexually harassed by her boss. Identification of the home, its owner, the nurse and other witnesses was banned by employment judge Reg Christie at the request of both parties (The Press and Journal)