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In McMillan v Airedale NHS Foundation Trust [2014] IRLR 803 CA, the Court of Appeal held that the NHS had no contractual right to increase a disciplinary sanction on a doctor's internal appeal against that sanction.
In Thomson v Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust EAT/0218/14, the EAT upheld an employment tribunal's ruling that a conduct dismissal was unfair because the chair of the disciplinary panel had no training or experience in the role, and he impermissibly dismissed for what amounted to serious but not gross misconduct. The employee had, however, failed to establish that there was any failure to make reasonable adjustments.
An employment tribunal has held that a requirement that police firearms officers with one year away from work attend an intensive firearms training course on their return indirectly discriminated against a female police officer returning from maternity leave.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a dismissal was procedurally unfair because the chair of the disciplinary panel had no experience or training in conducting disciplinary hearings. This led to the disciplinary panel misapplying the disciplinary procedure, and in these circumstances, the EAT found the dismissal was also substantively unfair.
An employment tribunal has found that Greater Manchester Police indirectly discriminated against a single-parent police officer who worked term time only when it introduced a requirement that she work nine days during school holidays. The case is a stark reminder to public-sector organisations reviewing flexible working arrangements as a way to cut costs to beware of the potential for discrimination.
The employment tribunal held that a police worker's "profound belief in the proper and efficient use of public money in the public sector" is not a "philosophical belief" under the Equality Act 2010.
In DLA Piper's latest case report, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a police officer who made protected disclosures was dismissed after taking matters into his own hands and becoming difficult to manage because he was not satisfied with the action taken following the concerns that he had raised, and that he was not dismissed for blowing the whistle.
This employment tribunal held that the belief in the importance of public service held by an individual who became the mayor of Liverpool is a "philosophical belief" under the Equality Act 2010.
In BS v Dundee City Council [2014] IRLR 131 CS, the Court of Session found that a tribunal failed to address crucial questions in deciding whether or not an employee had been fairly dismissed for long-term absence and had been wrong to assume that the employee's length of service was a relevant consideration. Long service was relevant only insofar as it could lead to the inference that the employee was a good worker who would return to work as soon as possible.
The Supreme Court has restored the High Court decision granting a doctor an injunction to prevent an NHS trust from continuing flawed disciplinary action against her without first restarting and completing an investigation under its disciplinary policy.
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