This week in the news, the launch of the "Taxi" service Uber in the UK may open up the door to a wide range of employment law problems; Citi trader wins his unfair dismissal claim after being fired as a result of the libor scandal; A study by ACAS revealed that the number of Bullying cases in the workplace is on the rise and more worryingly all too often management are found to lack the skills and knowledge to deal with such complaints; Zoo keeper who was fired for assaulting fellow employee in a love triangle has won her claim for unfair dismissal; and finally, the gender pay gap seems to be narrowing but it's not as big a cause for celebration as one would hope.
Elaine McIlroy: Uber issues are tip of employment iceberg:
There has been no shortage of hype about the launch of Uber, the taxi app, in London, Glasgow and lately in Edinburgh. Considerably less attention has been paid to the significant problems awaiting Uber Technologies, the American creator and operator of the app which effectively turns any motorist with a decent car and no criminal record into a taxi driver to be summoned by a few clicks on a smartphone. Very little publicity has been given here to a huge class action suit that has been taken against Uber by a large group of individuals in California – with a similar action also under way in Boston.
Read the full story http://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/law/elaine-mcilroy-uber-issues-are-tip-of-employment-iceberg-1-3950406#ixzz3rpisT2jA
Citi trader sacked after forex rigging probe wins unfair dismissal case.
A London-based currency trader fired by Citigroup after industry-wide investigations into alleged rate-rigging has won his unfair dismissal case. Perry Stimpson, a forex dealer who was sacked in November 2014, has had his claim backed by an employment tribunal. Mr Stimpson, who worked at the US bank for more than 20 years, was fired for sharing confidential client information with other dealers. However, Mr Stimpson said the sharing information in online chatrooms was known about by management
Read the full story http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/12002204/Citi-trader-sacked-after-forex-rigging-probe-wins-unfair-dismissal-case.html
Inexperienced managers ‘reluctant’ to confront bullies at work, research reveals
Up to 36 per cent of UK workers have quit their jobs as a result of being bullied at work, according to a poll from the TUC. While many employers have introduced anti-bullying policies into their organisations over the last few years, the programmes have fallen short in reducing the overall prevalence of bullying, the research revealed. Nearly one third (29 per cent) of staff report to have fallen victim to workplace bullying. The TUC research, which was based on a poll more than 1,700 adults across the UK, carried out by YouGov, revealed the extent to which bullying impacts workplace productivity.
Read the full story http://www.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2015/11/16/inexperienced-managers-reluctant-to-confront-bullies-at-work-research-reveals.aspx
London Zoo meerkat keeper who glassed monkey handler love rival was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules.
A London Zoo worker sacked after glassing a female colleague in a love triangle clash over a llama keeper was unfairly dismissed — but she will not receive a penny in compensation. Meerkat keeper Caroline Westlake hit monkey handler Kate Saunders in the face at a work Christmas party last year after they came to blows over fellow animal expert Adam Davies.
Read full story http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-zoo-meerkat-keeper-who-glassed-monkey-handler-love-rival-was-unfairly-dismissed-tribunal-a3117611.html
Gender pay gap closing partially because of men's declining wages, report says
Almost half of the progress made toward closing the gender pay gap since 1979 is not due to women’s gains in the workplace, but to men’s wages falling and the sharp rise in overall inequality, according to a grave new report released Wednesday. Women in the US have made lopsided advances in education, and they have entered the workforce in growing numbers and at higher-paying positions than before. But the researchers found that those strides only accounted for 60% of the reason why women’s compensation is approaching parity with men’s. The other 40% is the work of an illusion: as men’s wages are disproportionately hurt by globalization and the decline of unions, women have only appeared to catch up.
Read the full story http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/18/gender-pay-gap-men-wages-economic-policy-institute-report
