The Court of Session has ruled that an education authority had not acted unfairly when it dismissed a teacher after indecent images were found on his computer. The issue arose after police attended the teacher’s home to carry out inquiries relating to an IP address linked to online indecent images. He was charged with possession
A nurse who was dismissed for refusing to work weekends has won a landmark ruling that could affect thousands of women with children. Gemma Dobson was a community nurse with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS. She had worked fixed days because she had three children, including two with disabilities. However, she was dismissed after the
The government is to introduce a new watchdog organisation to protect workers’ rights and prevent unfair practices. Responsibility for tackling modern slavery, enforcing the minimum wage and protecting agency workers – currently spread across 3 different bodies – will be brought under one roof, creating a comprehensive new authority, which will ensure businesses that break
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a manager who spread sherbet on his desk to make it appear like drugs had been “foolish and insensitive” but did not deserve to be dismissed. The case involved Mr D Buchholz, who worked for Geze UK Ltd, a company that supplies products, for door, window and safety technology.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has been found to have racially discriminated against a Muslim doctor of African and European heritage. In giving its ruling, the Employment Tribunal referred to the high number of complaints against ethnic minority staff and said discrimination could be infecting the way the GMC dealt with such cases. The case
The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a company acted unfairly when it dismissed an employee because he went to the pub while off sick from work. The case involved Mr Colin Kane, who worked as a driver for Debmat Surfacing, a company that lays tarmac. Kane suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes breathing
Age discrimination claims surged by 74% last year following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s thought the figure is likely to keep rising. The research was carried out by Rest Less, the digital community for the over-50s. Rest Less analysed data from the Ministry of Justice and found that the number of age discrimination
A carer who was called a ‘slut’ by colleagues after they saw photos of her modelling underwear has been awarded £3,000 compensation for harassment. Ms C L Wallace worked for the Acomb Court Care Home in Hexham in October 2019 until January 2020. She also did a little modelling and on one occasion posted photos
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