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 NEWS
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17 November - Church of England bans boozy vicar for swinging
The Rev Teresa Davies, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, was found guilty of inappropriate conduct at a tribunal in London yesterday and banned from practising for 12 years by the Church of England. Davies had admitted to colleagues that she went on swinging holidays in the South of France and had turned up drunk to church services on several occasions.
The tribunal heard that Mrs Davies, 37, and her husband had posted on swinging websites under the name “Tess and Mick, Daventry”.
After revealing her propensity for swinging to colleagues at a lunch, Mrs Davies sent an e-mail to, the Rev Canon Owen Page, claiming that she had “probably loaded you with too much information”. She told the other clergyman at the lunch, the Rev Peter Davis: “I think I have said too much.”
In a further attempt to cover up she told her archdeacon that she had been drinking and was trying to be shocking. She also said that she had never had any sexual relationship outside of wedlock. She admitted to the tribunal that this was incorrect.
The tribunal said: “Clergy who commit sexual misconduct have to be dealt with firmly and in a way which would protect those who could be harmed if the respondent were otherwise allowed to remain in ministry.”
Mrs Davies was suspended from her position as a team vicar in May last year and resigned in September. She did not attend the hearing.
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Subtle Brain Injury Cases: A New PI Bandwagon
Marcus Grant, 1 Temple Gardens
Monday 1st December, 2pm
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Live Online Video Seminar
Following the recent groundbreaking case of Williams v Jervis no personal injury lawyer can afford not to know about this subject. Whether you work for claimants or defendants it is essential to spot the warning signs of subtle neurological brain injuries early on and to litigate accordingly. This webinar provides an essential and practical guide to a subject which looks set to be the next big personal injury bandwagon.
One low price for your whole office to join in
2 hours CPD for every delegate
Watch from your own desk and ask the speaker questions
Includes free transcript, slides, mp3 & three months online access to recording
Book Instantly Online / Find Out More
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10 November - ID Cards available early
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced today that "small volumes" of ID cards will be distributed amongst the public by the end of next year.
A website is under consideration for the New Year, which will enable anyone wanting a card to register their interest.
The cards, which will store copies of two fingerprints and a facial scan will enable holders to travel around Europe without a passport.
Each will cost £30 and will be available for everyone else from 2011. It is costing nearly £5bn to implement the ID card and biometric passport scheme.
Ms Smith claimed the cards would replace bank statements, driving licences and birth certificates for anyone looking to confirm their identity.
The biometric data stored on the cards and the ID card database could be collected on the high street at post office counters or in shops, she said.
She also announced stronger powers for the ID cards watchdog to enforce cooperation by government departments and companies involved in collecting the data.
Addressing the Social Market Foundation think tank in central London, the Home Secretary said there was already a need for a "universal means of proving identity".
"The time is fast approaching when the use of bills and bank statements to prove our identity will no longer cut it, and when our personal dictionary of different passwords for different purposes will become too unwieldy to work effectively." she said.
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3 November - New EU Directive gives Temporary workers equal rights
Temporary workers will receive many of the same protections as permanent staff following the European Parliament's approval of a new European Union Directive. EU institutions have battled for six years over the issue.
"Today's vote is a major step forward for Social Europe guaranteeing protection for all agency workers in Europe," said Vladimír Špidla, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. "This agreement also shows that a Europe of 27 Member States can take decisions and deliver tangible benefits for all its citizens. And it demonstrates that when social partners find ways forward together, real benefits for both workers and businesses are possible."
The Directive will give temporary workers equal treatment in relation to pay, holidays and maternity leave as their permanent colleagues.
“This directive will not be welcomed by employers, but it is less damaging than previous proposals as key flexibilities that underpin UK competitiveness have been protected," said Katja Hall, the CBI director of employment policy.
“More than half of agency assignments last less than 12 weeks and will be unaffected. And while pay is included, occupational benefits that recognise the long-term relationship permanent staff have with an employer, like sick pay and pensions, are rightly excluded," she said.
The Directive also says that countries can restrict the use of agency temporary workers, but only if that restriction or prohibition is "in the general interest".
National Governments must now pass laws which put the Directive into action, and it will come into effect in three years' time.
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27 October - Transs*xual truck driver awarded £20,000 after losing job
A transs*xual truck driver Vikki-Marie Gaynor, has been awarded more than £20,000 in compensation after she was forced out of her job when she started dressing as a woman.
Miss Gaynor, a former soldier previously known as Mike, was employed through recruitment firm Blue Arrow in October 2006 as a truck driver for Excel Europe,
The tribunal hearings in Liverpool heard that a colleague made offensive gestures at her at traffic lights and her belongings and make-up were removed from her lorry and dumped in a bin liner in a disabled toilet at the DHL base in Kirkby. She also suffered cruel jibes from colleagues and had seen her shifts cancelled after turning up to work wearing women's clothing and jewellery.
Weeks later, Miss Gaynor quit and began action against haulage firm Exel, part of DHL, and the Blue Arrow recruitment agency.
Blue Arrow were ordered by judge Dawn Shotter to pay more than £9,000 compensation for breach of contract, compensation for unlawful discrimination and failing to comply with the Employment Act. Exel was ordered to pay £11,000 for injury to feelings.
Though she declined to comment on the awards it is understood Miss Gaynor is intending to submit an appeal, although it is unclear with which part of the ruling she objected.
Blue Arrow said: "Blue Arrow accepts the employment tribunal's ruling. We now consider the matter closed."
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20 October - Rugby player sues Coventry RFC over career ending injury
Former Moseley rugby player Stuart McKinnon is claiming damages after suffering a serious career ending eye injury in a second-team match against Coventry RFC in September 2001.
The 39-year-old prop, from Upper Quinton, Warwickshire, is claiming compensation from Coventry RFC and two of its former players, though he told Coventry County Court he did not see who had struck him, while stooping for a ruck.
The incident happened in seconds as he ran towards the ruck with his head down, Mr McKinnion told the court. "My head went backwards, someone came in and swung a punch and I went down on my hands and knees," he said.
Former team captain Mark Ellis, who is one of the players being sued, told the court he struck Mr McKinnon in self-defence. Mr Ellis, representing himself, said the referee had penalised Mr McKinnon for stamping during the ruck. "As I was arriving, Mr McKinnon was coming over the top of the ruck and he threw a punch at me and I threw a punch back," he said.
The claim was a "complete lie" said Mr McKinnon.
Moseley team captain Rob Sigley who also gave evidence said he saw a second Coventry player, Trevor Revan, hit Mr McKinnon. Mr Revan had been reported to the Rugby Football Union in October 2001 and charged by police with assault, though the charge was later dropped after he claimed he struck the blow in self defence.
The case continues.
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13 October - Businessman sues tour operators after skiing accident leaves him in wheelchair
British businessman Graham Anderson, 46, is suing his tour operators for millions of pounds after a skiing accident where he collided with a tree during a holiday left him needing a wheelchair.
On holiday, in the French Alps in February 2004, Mr Anderson was taken off piste with the adult ski school he was enrolled in, despite the fact that on a previous trip he had "frequently fallen",
‘As he went down a steep, narrow slope, he lost control and sped into a tree at the bottom, losing consciousness on impact.’ Said Mr Anderson's lawyer.
‘When he came round, he could not feel his legs.’
Mr Anderson who is now tetraplegic, is suing the Cambridgeshire-based tour operator Snowbizz, for breaching the terms of the holiday contract that services would be provided with reasonable care and skill.
Christopher Wilson-Smith QC, for Mr Anderson, told the High Court: "Mr Anderson accepts that, in choosing to go on a skiing holiday, he was exposing himself to the possibility of injury."
But he said that the way the group was selected was "negligent", pairing Mr Anderson, whose skiing experience was limited to a few weeks, with a skier of 13 years' experience.
Snowbizz deny any liability, saying Anderson was himself careless is attempting a slope he should have known he was not capable of tackling safely.
Mr Wilson-Smith insisted that Mr Anderson, could be awarded "potentially millions" in damages and costs, given his current and future care needs.
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06 October - Muslim worker sues Tesco for forcing him to carry beer
Muslim worker Mohammed Ahmed is suing Tesco for discrimination after he was forced by managers to transport beer on his forklift truck; an act that he claims offends his religious beliefs.
The 32-year-old was raised in Saudi Arabia and told a tribunal he had never visited a Tesco store and had no idea it sold alcohol when he accepted the job. However Ahmed admitted shopping at Sainsbury's, Lidl and Asda and seeing alcohol on sale there.
It was, 'reasonable to expect him to be aware of what Tesco did', said company lawyer Laura Canham, who accused him of giving out mixed messages by suggesting at one point he could handle Budweiser.
The issue arose in September last year, when Mr Ahmed, started working at the Tesco’s distribution depot in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Having realised the problem, Mr Ahmed claimed he asked for an alternative position but was allegedly told by aggressive supervisors: 'You do the job or go home.'
He lodged a formal complaint in February but was then victimised and harassed, the tribunal in Birmingham heard.
Two months later Mr Ahmed left the job saying he had no choice but to resign 'in protest'. 'I am not saying I am a perfect person, but there was a conflict with my beliefs,' he said.
Miss Canham denied discrimination, saying: 'All other roles, in some form or other, also came into contact with alcohol.'
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29 September - Labour Party campaigner sues over 'dog bite'
A Labour Party campaigner Brian Hunter is suing a dog owner for £15,000 over claims his pet bit off the tip of his little finger as he delivered a leaflet to a house in Kielder Place, Lemington, Newcastle in November 2006.
Mark Monroe, 44, is fighting the claim, saying his letterbox guard makes it "impossible" for his dog Jack to bite.
Mr Monroe said: "When I came in there was the finger lying on the floor, cleanly sliced off. I wrapped it up in a food bag and put it in the freezer and waited for the owner to come back and collect it, so that he could have it stitched on - but he never came back. Jack’s a lovely dog and although he barks he hasn't bitten anyone."
He called police to find out who the fingertip belonged to and they traced the owner two days later.
A statement from Mr Hunter, contained within legal documents, said: "I walked up the pathway and using my right hand, inserted a leaflet through the letterbox of the door premises. Suddenly and without warning I heard a dog growl and quickly removed my hand. As I did so, I noticed blood and observed my little finger had been severed from the nail to the tip."
Following surgery, Mr Hunter was on painkillers for two months and still has difficulty carrying objects with his right hand, which has permanent scarring on all fingers.
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22 September - Law against "Islamophobia in the workplace” needed, says Muslim minister
Government whip Sadiq Khan has called for a law against religious discrimination to be introduced to improve the lives of British Muslims.
Khan who is one of four Muslim Labour MPs said that the forthcoming Single Equality Act, which could force public bodies to actively promote equality on grounds of gender, race and disability, must also tackle religion and end "Islamophobia in the workplace".
Mr Khan said Muslims are being denied good jobs and left feeling like "second-class citizens". He said this was fuelling alienation and the rise of extremism.
In a pamphlet published by the Fabian Society, Mr Khan argued that a combination of improved rights and enhanced responsibilities among British Muslims was needed in order to "reconnect" them with the rest of society.
"This is a relationship of two sides. British Muslims also need to step up to the plate," he said. "All of us must unequivocally agree that honour killings are murder and forced marriages are kidnapping," Mr Khan said, adding that British Muslim women must be given freedom.
He said that all immigrants should learn to speak English as, "it is a passport to participation in mainstream society – jobs, education and even being able to use health services." He added that the teaching of British history must be compuslory in schools in order to make all children "understand who they are."
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15 September - Polish cleaner demands compensation claiming poor grasp of English is disability
Polish cleaner Izabela Smolarek claimed her lack of English should be classed as a disability as she tried to sue her employers for alleged discrimination. She claimed cleaning firm ISS Facility Services Ltd exploited her inability to understand her job contract by paying her less than the minimum wage for cleaning rooms at a Travelodge in Luton, Beds.
Miss Smolarek had agreed to be paid £1.24 for each hotel room she cleaned, but said it was impossible to clean the three rooms an hour necessary to earn the £5.52 national minimum wage. In her claim statement, she said: "Not speaking and not understanding the language is a disability. It's like being deaf and mute and illiterate.
Her representative, Thomas Klarecki, told the hearing: "The law says you do not have to discuss the reasons for a disability, just the effects of the disability.
However, Judge Valentine Adamson dismissed the claim at the hearing in Bedford. He said: "In the absence of any identifiable impairment, the only point being that the claimant was born in Poland and not a country where English is the first language, I find the claimant's language difficulties are not capable of being classed as an impairment within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act.
Miss Smolarek continues to claim she was unfairly dismissed by the London-based cleaning firm.
Another pre-hearing review has been scheduled for January 12.
A spokesman for ISS said the company denied the allegations but would not comment further.
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08 September - News Reader Scott to sue Channel Five for age discrimination
Newsreader Selina Scott is about to sue Channel Five seeking compensation under the age discrimination law. Scott, 57 is claiming she was lined up as maternity cover for Natasha Kaplinsky on Five News but that Five went back on their agreement, discriminating against her as she was too old.
In June Five News announced that Kaplinsky would be replaced by Isla Traquair, 28, and Matt Barbet, 32. A Channel Five spokesman said: "We do not accept this claim and will be vigorously defending it."
It is understood that the case has been listed at the London Employment Service in Holborn, with the Five director of programmes, Ben Gale, named as a defendant.
Scott, who joined ITV's News at Ten in 1980 and helped launch the BBC's Breakfast Time programme in 1983, hit out at ageism in television news earlier this year. "How many women are there on mainstream current affairs programmes who are over 50?" said Scott. "Anna Ford has retired, Moira Stuart has been bumped, yet you look around and see lots of men."
Scott's agent, Knight Ayton Management, was unavailable for comment.
When Kaplinsky's predecessor Kirsty Young went on maternity leave in 2006, Five brought in another veteran newsreader, John Suchet, Kaplinsky, 35, joined Five News in February this year, presenting its 5pm and 7pm news bulletins.
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01 September - £10,000 in libel damages for University lecturer accused of faking expenses
A lecturer has won £10,000 in libel damages after his university falsely accused him of making up expenses claims.
When Dr Tom McMaster had his £180 claim for travel expenses rejected he assumed there had been some mistake. But when he queried it with his finance department he received a vitriolic email from finance director Ray Corner wrongly claiming he had been exaggerating his expenses, accusing him of fraud.
In November 2006 Dr McMaster instructed lawyers to write to Mr Corner asking for an apology but he was said to have repeated the allegations. The lecturer then filed a claim for damages against Mr Corner and the University in February and went to the High Court in an effort to clear his name and seek damages because of the "unrepentant and unapologetic stance" taken by Mr Corner in his reply.
In March of this year an application by Salford University to have the matter thrown out on the grounds that it was a "frivolous" action was refused by the judge. They then offered to settle the case for £10,000, which the lecturer accepted.
Dr McMaster said "I imagine this will have cost the university about £100,000, including legal fees. But I would have settled for a simple apology. I used to love my work."
A spokesman said: "The university has reached a settlement with Dr McMaster and we cannot comment on any outstanding grievance issues concerning him."
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26 August - Tesco home deliveryman sues customer over driveway slip
A Tesco customer is being pursued for compensation by one of the supermarket chain's home deliverymen months after he slipped on a driveway during a routine drop-off.
Paul Singleton used the supermarket's online shopping service for over three years, spending around £250 every few weeks. But while his groceries were being delivered four months ago, the driver Andrew Britton, 44, mentioned he had slipped on the sloping driveway. Mr Britton then continued unloading items from the van.
Several weeks later a solicitor's letter unexpectedly arrived at Mr Singleton's home informing him he was being sued for compensation because the driver had injured his ankle in a fall on his property. Mr Singleton said: "I was stunned and felt totally bemused. My driveway only slopes down by about an inch.
He contacted Tesco and said: "I told them that one of their employees was suing a customer and they just said they couldn't help.
"I replied that this was a matter arising from a Tesco employee driving a Tesco van while at work so of course it was a matter for them, this driver must be covered by them. But they're just not interested.”
He has now engaged a solicitor to handle the case. A Tesco spokesman said: “We do not support this claim and do not think that it is appropriate for our customer to be sued.
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18 August - Report finds Ethnic minority lawyers discriminated against
An independent report has concluded that the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the body that regulates solicitors, has been discriminating against ethnic minority lawyers and subjecting them to potentially ruinous investigations.
The report found black and minority ethnic lawyers are "stereotyped" with SRA staff assuming guilt before they start investigating complaints against them. It says the organisation is open to the charge of being institutionally racist and was more likely to investigate ethnic minority lawyers than white ones.
The report was written by Lord Ouseley, the former head of the Commission for Racial Equailty, following years of complaints from black and Asian solicitors that the SRA treats them unfairly.
The report is highly critical of the organisation's leadership and says: "The SRA at present lacks the drive and the equality and diversity competence within its managerial and leadership spheres to make the changes happen."
The report says this is the case with a minority of staff and adds some ethnic minority lawyers are judged to be guilty through racist stereotyping before an investigation is started.
The SRA was created in 2006 to handle complaints against solicitors and can investigate them for a variety of matters.
Peter Herbert, chair of the Society of Black Lawyers and a member of the working party that produced the report, said: "Black and minority solicitors faced racism. This is as serious for the legal profession as the Lawrence inquiry was for racism in the Metropolitan police."
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11 August - Leading Law Firm fire lawyer over strip club 'harassment'
A lawyer at a leading City law firm has been fired following a complaint by an intern she was sexually harassed by him at a West End strip club.
The young female intern claimed that the associate at the London office of the US firm Shearman & Sterling, took her to the Windmill strip club in Soho on July 18, where he allegedly made sexually suggestive comments and touched her inappropriately.
The alleged harassment occurred following a company drinks at the Light Bar in the City. A group of lawyers later moved on to the Chinawhite club in Piccadilly. The intern and the lawyer in question then proceeded to the Windmill Strip-club, where the associate allegedly paid for their entry on a credit card.
Shearman & Sterling apologised to the vacation student in a letter dated Aug 1. "We apologise for the experience that you had at Shearman & Sterling and wish you well," the firm wrote.
"Although we accept that the conduct displayed by the associate in taking you to The Windmill Club was deeply inappropriate, it was not a Shearman & Sterling-organised event and we therefore accept no liability for what may have occurred."
"A student on our UK summer vacation scheme lodged a complaint regarding the conduct of one of the firm's associates during an informal social evening outside the offices,” said a spokesman for Shearman & Sterling said yesterday
Shearman & Sterling takes such matters very seriously and, following a full investigation in accordance with internal disciplinary procedures, the associate has now left the firm."
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