At just five feet tall (1.5 metres) PC Robin Port has been reported to be Britain’s smallest policeman. Height restrictions in the 19th and early 20th century required that police officers should be at least 5ft 10in and by 1960 the limits were reduced to 5ft 8in for male and 5ft 4in for female police…
Albert Stewart has been carrying out the same bin round for West Lancashire Borough Council for the last 33 years. However, he’s now been removed from the round for picking up too much rubbish. He was spotted taking away extra bin bags left beside overflowing wheelie bins, which was against the Council’s refuse collection rules.…
According to a report on RTE, BBC presenter Adrian Chiles has been told by his bosses to get rid of his newly grown beard on the basis that it “doesn’t look right” and is a “bit scruffy, like he hasn’t bothered to get ready properly”. In response The Sun has started a campaign to “smash…
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a radio advert for Reed Recruitment which implied that all Germans are “tyrranical”. The ad features a man speaking to his boss who, according to a report in the Guardian, responded in German in “loud, staccato bursts evocative of the speeches of Adolf Hitler”. The voice was described by…
In Petersen v Berufungsausschuss für Zahnärzte für den Bezirk Westfalen-Lippe Ms Petersen, a dentist born in 1939, was not allowed under German law to continue practising dentistry beyond her 68th birthday in June 2007. She submitted a claim for age discrimination which was referred to the European Court. In response, the German authorities claimed that…
Mr Khan, a Muslim, lost his claims for unfair dismissal and equal pay in the Reading employment tribunal September 2008 and appealed on the basis that he had not had a fair trial. He maintained that the tribunal should have granted his request made on the third day of the hearing for an adjournment to…
One of the more important employment law decisions in the Court of Appeal in 2009 was Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform -v- Neufeld and Howe. Mr Neufeld was the managing director of A & N Communications In Print Limited and was employed as part of the sales team. He held 90%…
Accidents will happen but employers are often left exposed to prosecution as a result of failing to take steps to provide a safe working environment with a view to minimising risk. It is vital for employers to be aware of the need to comply with health and safety regulations and to apply required procedures on…
Is a pregnant worker automatically entitled to a risk assessment in the absence of evidence that the work involves a health and safety risk to the expectant mother? This is the question which was considered by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of O’Neill -v- Buckinghamshire County Council. Many employers carry out risk assessments…
The tension and frequent confusion which results from different perceptions of whether workers are employed or self-employed from tax and employment law perspectives has kept the courts busy for many years. The latest foray into this problematic topic by the Court of Appeal is in the interesting and significant case of Autoclenz Limited -v- Belcher.…