The Employment Tribunal has ruled that the supermarket chain Lidl failed to properly investigate the case of one of its caretakers who caused alarm to colleagues when, among other things, he showed off a swastika tattoo. It ruled that Mr I Horvarth, from Hungary, was unfairly dismissed following various complaints against him. In one incident,
In the management of any business, the balance between cost and risk is critical. We recognise that taking legal advice on employment matters is a cost to our clients’ businesses and it is important to drive that cost down as far as reasonably possible; however, where cost is squeezed, risk can increase. By waiting to
A firm’s equality and diversity training has been dismissed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal as stale and ineffective against preventing harassment. The case involved Allay (UK) Ltd and Mr S Gehlen, who was of Indian origin. Mr Gehlen had been dismissed due to his performance. Following his dismissal, he complained that a work colleague had
A bus driver who knocked down a cyclist after he made obscene gestures towards him has lost his claim of unfair dismissal. Sam Beech had worked for Lothian Buses for 11 years until he was dismissed in September 2019 for gross misconduct. It all hinged on an incident when Beech was moving away from a
A bank worker has won his claim of unfair dismissal after he was made redundant following the breakdown of his relationship with his bosses. Joynal Choudhury had worked for Gatehouse Bank since 2015 and took on a new role as head of real estate in March 2018. He immediately suffered a strained relationship with his
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an employer could be justified in not re-engaging an unfairly dismissed employee if it had a rational belief that he could not carry out the duties required in a new role or if there had been a genuine breakdown of trust. The case involved Mr Scott Kelly, who
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a manager who was told not to be a baby when he asked for time off due to kidney cancer was constructively dismissed. The case involved Steve Pointon, who was general manager of Alpha Omega Security from 2015-2018. He was signed off sick in June 2016 and diagnosed with
Royal Mencap Society (Respondent) v Tomlinson-Blake (Appellant) Two “sleep in” care workers appealed to the UK’s highest Court, the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decision that they are not entitled to the national minimum wage (NWM) for the duration of their “sleep in” shift. A “sleep in” shift typically means that the employee is
The Supreme Court has ruled that Uber drivers should be classed as workers rather than as self-employed. The distinction is crucial as it means drivers gain significant employments rights such as entitlement to the minimum wage and holiday pay. The court’s decision marks the end of a four-year legal battle between Uber and two of
A surgeon who accidentally set one of his patients on fire during an operation has won his case of unfair dismissal and been awarded £67,000. Dr O Iwuchukwu worked at City Hospitals Sunderland, part of South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, from 2005 until his dismissal in 2015. In August 2013, he was operating