Employment law cases in the news – 13.04.2015 to 19.04.2015

In the latest of our series of posts, we examine ten employment law cases that have made the news between 13 April and 19 April 2015

1. Steel firm sentenced over North Yorkshire worker’s death – A Sheffield steel company has been sentenced after a catalogue of safety failings led to a 42-year-old worker being killed when he was knocked off his lorry and then crushed by a three-tonnes load of steel tubes (HSE)
2. £19,500 for zero hours contract worker reluctant to report line manager for fear of losing work – An employment tribunal has awarded a zero hours contract worker £19,500 after her employer failed properly to investigate allegations that her line manager, who decided how many hours’ work she was given, had sexually harassed her (XpertHR)
3. Black police officer wins race discrimination case against force that wouldn’t promote him because of his colour – A black police constable has won a race discrimination case against his force after they did not promote him due to the colour of his skin. Ronnie Lungu was singled out as ‘a marked man’ by Wiltshire Police solely due to his race, the employment tribunal ruled (The Daily Mail)
4. ‘Sexist’ dentist sacked nurse after she rejected his ‘hug and kiss’ – A dentist unfairly sacked his nurse after she rejected his advances, a tribunal has found. Colin Cromie tried to hug and kiss her, suggested they holiday together in Barcelona, and told her they were both with the wrong partner (The Mirror)
5. Ripley paramedic claims unfair dismissal after being cleared of sex assault charge – A paramedic has taken East Midlands Ambulance Services to an employment tribunal claiming he was unfairly sacked after a patient accused him of sexually assaulting her. Paul Booker was dismissed from the trust, despite an ongoing criminal investigation at the time, after it decided “on the balance of probability” he had inappropriately touched the patient’s breast (The Derby Telegraph)
6. Teenager’s horrific arm injuries lead to court for Nottinghamshire firm – A Nottinghamshire company has been fined after a 19-year-old employee severed most of his forearm in an unguarded machine. Mark Marshall, of Retford, was working on an assembly line at Kybotech Ltd’s site in Ollerton Road, Tuxford, when the incident happened on 11 July 2013 (HSE)
7. Ex-soldier who lost kneecap in combat sues bosses after they allegedly nicknamed him “hoppy” – An ex-soldier who lost a kneecap in combat is suing his bosses saying a colleague nicknamed him “Hoppy”. Details of Ian Gibson’s injury on active duty in the 1970s were held back at an employment tribunal under the Official Secrets Act (The Mirror)
8. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson loses legal battle to stay on ex-school payroll – Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has lost the latest round of a legal fight to continue to be on the payroll of a school where he had not worked for two years. ​The Labour chief was given £4,500-a-year in paid time off from Chesterfield High School, where he had worked as a learning mentor, when he took up the role of city council leader on a full-time basis in 2010 (The Liverpool Echo)
9. Goldman Sachs executive who says she was cheated out of millions in bonuses when she fell pregnant ‘secretly filmed her bosses to back sexism claim’ – A top executive at Goldman Sachs secretly filmed colleagues to record their ‘sexist’ behaviour when she became pregnant. Sonia Pereiro-Mendez says she was denied millions in pay and bonuses when she announced she was expecting her first child (The Daily Mail)
10. Two firms fined over “life changing” burns to electricity workers – A specialist technology company and an electrical services firm were fined after two workers suffered serious burns when working on a live electricity distribution board (HSE)