Employment law cases in the news – 13.06.2016 to 19.06.2016
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 13 June and 19 June 2016
- NI hotel group to pay George Best lookalike £14k after he was sacked in wake of being wrongly accused of stealing chocolates – Northern Ireland’s best known hotel group has been ordered to pay a George Best lookalike more than £14,000 after he was sacked in the wake of being wrongly accused of stealing a delivery of chocolates. An industrial tribunal told Hastings Hotels to pay Mark O’Hare the money after deciding he was unfairly dismissed when he took time off work due to stress (Belfast Live)
- Former Unicorn head chef seeks €33,000 awarded over losing job – A former head chef in a popular Dublin Italian restaurant found out he had been replaced while the establishment underwent refurbishment, the Circuit Civil Court has heard. Barrister Colm Hennessy told the court Lorcan Cribbin was dismissed from his executive position at The Unicorn restaurant on Merrion Court in April 2014 (The Irish Times)
- Christian teenager burnt by colleagues and strapped to cross – An apprentice shopfitter was tied to a makeshift crucifix, drawn on, and burnt by an ignited aerosol in what his colleagues, on trial for assault, dismissed as a series of workplace pranks. On 13 June, York Crown Court heard how four men undertook a sustained campaign of bullying against their teenage colleague from July 2014 and April 2015 (Personnel Today)
- Bricklayer loses employment tribunal against Aspire after £3k wage cut: bricklayer Adrian Johnson has taken his employer to court – after suffering a £3,000 wage cut. The union member lodged the unfair dismissal claim in a test case against Newcastle-based Aspire Group (Stoke Sentinel)
- East Lancashire liver surgeon in line for five-figure payout after winning unfair dismissal case – A liver surgeon could be in line for a five-figure payout after it was ruled he was unfairly dismissed by East Lancashire’s hospital bosses. Aditya Agrawal could receive up to £74,200 in compensation after a month-long employment tribunal rule that he was unjustly sacked (Lancashire Telegraph)
- Worker sacked over claims he refused to speak English – A car worker from Birmingham has taken legal action after alleging he was sacked for snubbing a company email ordering staff to speak English. Raj Rangla, who speaks fluent English and Punjabi, claims he was given his marching orders for failing to co-operate with the edict from Trust Group UK, based in Aston (ITV.com)
- Fingerprint expert wins Supreme Court bid to get job back – A fingerprint officer who was unfairly dismissed over the Shirley McKie case has won her fight at the UK’s highest court to be reinstated. Fiona McBride was one of four fingerprint experts who misidentified a mark left at a murder scene as that of former Strathclyde Police detective McKie in 1997. Ms McKie went on to win £750,000 in an out-of-court settlement (The Scotsman)