The Health and Safety Executive, together with the Fire Service and UK Coal are to investigate an explosion at a former colliery which left two security guards seriously injured.
The men both suffered facial burns in the incident which occurred at the site of the old Welbeck Colliery in Nottinghamshire and are said to be in a critical but stable condition in hospital. Detectives are now working with the...
A man, currently suspended from his job as an operational supports officer at Leeds City Council’s contact centre, is suing the council.
Lakhbeer Barn said that work colleagues had made fun of him due to his Sikh background and his brother’s disability and he resorted to making secret recordings of some of their conversations and took screen grabs of their private instant messenger exchanges to get evidence together to support his claim.
A Leeds employment tribunal has heard...
The Cleveland Police force is to defend itself against a race discrimination claim being launched by one of its former officers.
Jason Singh, who was a sergeant with the force is seeking damages for race victimisation as well as disability discrimination and told a preliminary tribunal hearing that he had been “victimised, harassed and belittled” because of his race.
Mr Singh told the hearing that he passed...
A new survey has shown that many local authorities are planning cuts to school crossing patrols with some even planning to abolish them.
The survey, for the Times Educational Supplement, show that 40% of councils who were contacted were looking at cutbacks to lollipop men or women in a bid to save money. There are currently about 20,000 school crossing patrols throughout the country but, if council plans come to fruition, that number is set to drop dramatically in the coming years.
...
A council will have to pay thousands of pounds after a former worker successfully sued for unfair dismissal.
Wayne Andrews had worked as a markets manager for Chorley Council for 21 years before being made redundant in August 2009. He claimed that his trade union activities – he was a UNISON representative for many of the workforce – had acted against him when the council undertook a restructuring process and he lost his job.
...A Yorkshire council has issued a warning to firms in the region, saying they will face a fine if they employ children during the school holidays without holding a required permit.
East Riding Council says that permits are necessary for children aged between 13 and 16 and that compliance officers will be conducting spot-checks on local businesses with fines of up to £1,000 being handed out. The council warns that individual businesses are responsible for a child employee’s...
Two companies are due to be sentenced at Chester Crown Court following a major chemical fire.
Greenway Environmental Ltd and Pakawaste Ltd will learn their fate on July 28 after both firms pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It follows an explosion and fire at Aztec Aerosols in Crewe in June 2007 which covered 10,000 square metres, closing all surrounding roads and which took 100 firefighters and 25 fire engines to bring under control.
The blaze happened...
A skip hire company has been ordered to pay a heavy fine following an accident in which a man died when a tyre exploded.
Jozef Trhan, from Slovakia was fixing a split rim wheel on a loading shovel when the incident happened in February 2008. As Mr Trhan was knelt in front of the tyre the welds, which had been holding the sections of tyre together, failed, which caused the inner-tube to rupture. The blast propelled metal components into the air, striking the man on the head and body. The force launched him into the air and...
A worldwide packaging firm has been fined following an explosion at a factory in which two men suffered serious burns.
Gordon Metcalf and another worker, who has not been named, were working for Innovia Films Ltd at its factory in Cumbria when the accident happened in September 2006. The men were clearing debris from a damaged fuse box when a ball of fire shot out from it. Mr Metcalf was initially thought unlikely to survive the explosion. He was in a coma for four weeks and spent a total of five months in hospital. He will...
A new study has shown that a third of workers are taking time off work for no good reason.
The study of 2,000 firms by accountants PwC, has found that many employees take time off without a suitable explanation, with almost two-thirds admitting that they had called in sick because they were bored or disillusioned with their job.
PcW say that absenteeism is twice as prevalent in Britain compared to the USA and it costs British businesses about £32bn a year. Calling in sick was the...
An employment tribunal has heard that a teacher, sacked after his lessons were described as “inadequate”, claims he was being targeted.
John Beardshall, who was a teacher at Brinsworth Comprehensive School in Rotherham, went on sick leave for stress, anxiety and depression and was eventually sacked a year later in May 2009. He claimed that...
New figures released by the Tribunals Service have revealed that age discrimination cases are now more common than those involving race discrimination.
Although sex discrimination is still the most common with 18,300 tribunals in 2010-11, age discrimination accounted for 6,800, up from 5,200 the previous year. The figures showed that employment tribunals overall were down 8% on the previous year though that still represented a 44% increase on...
A Sheffield employment tribunal has heard claims that a Chesterfield firm had a male-dominated culture where bosses openly discussed potential female recruits and judged them by their bra size rather than their suitability for the job.
Angelina Ashby is claiming constructive dismissal and pay and sex discrimination against marine supplies firm Cathelco and says that she became an outcast...
A man is considering going to an employment tribunal after being sacked for moving a shopping trolley and other items off a railway line.
Ian Faletto, who had been station master at Lymington Station for 27 years, was sacked by South West Trains for gross misconduct as a result of the incident which occurred in March this year.
He said he removed the trolley and some smaller items including tin cans off the line as...