Parental leave is not equivalent to statutory maternity leave

Two recent cases involving fathers taking paternity leave have highlighted a defining difference between parental leave and a mother’s statutory maternity leave. One male employee who worked for a technology firm sued for sex discrimination after his employers insisted he should not be paid at the same rate as mothers on statutory maternity leave. A

Social worker was asked ‘how long would this disabled thing go on’

A social worker has won her discrimination claim after a drawn-out dispute with her employers in which she was asked, “how long would this disabled thing go on”. Patricia Murphy worked for Northumberland County Council from 1999. She suffered a foot injury in 2014 and lost some mobility. A series of complaints led to her

NHS administrator unfairly dismissed after her eyesight deteriorated

A woman who was dismissed after her eyesight deteriorated due to cataracts has been awarded £15,000 compensation. The case involved NHS administrator Denise Regan. After her vision became impaired, colleagues started to notice errors in her work. She sent a confidential report to the wrong patient, which was an information governance breach. Two months later

Royal Mail employee unfairly dismissed after storing ‘obscene material’

A Royal Mail employee was unfairly dismissed after he stored ‘obscene material’ on his online work account. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which ruled that Royal Mail’s internal appeals policy shouldn’t have allowed such a severe penalty. The case involved operational support manager Mr P Chokski. He was dismissed for sharing

Energy giant fined as HR process likened to show trial in Soviet Union

A tribunal has held that Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) was wrong to dismiss an employee who raised questions about health and safety practices. The judge likened its HR process to “a show trial in the former Soviet Union”. The case involved energy trader Donald Nutt who was employed by SSE for 16 years. After

Directors liable for company’s failures over employment rights

Two company directors have been held personally liable for their company’s failures over minimum wage rates, holiday pay and overtime. The case involved Lithuanian nationals who had come to the UK to work for DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd as chicken catchers on farms. Their employment was subject to the regulatory regime of the Gangmasters

Headmaster told disabled teaching assistant: ‘I can do what I like’

A teaching assistant was discriminated against by her employer, who did not take the necessary steps to allow her to work in comfort with her disability. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving an assistant who worked at Aycliffe Village Primary School in County Durham from February 2006. Mrs S

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