The Lawdown: Employment Law Podcast Series from CM Murray LLP CM Murray LLP

We are delighted to share Episode 37 of The Lawdown, our regular podcast discussing the latest key employment, discrimination and partnership law-related news stories, and the interesting legal issues behind them! You can listen to the episode here. 


In our latest episode of The Lawdown, Partner Beth Hale, Partner Emma Bartlett and Associate Kia Aoki discuss the following:


A Cleaner was apparently dismissed by an employment agency, for eating a leftover sandwich which she believed would be discarded after a lawyer’s meeting at a city law firm. She has reportedly asserted claims  for race discrimination and unfair dismissal, which is supported by her union In light of this, we discuss the expectation of honesty between employers and employees, and the difficulties that may arise in bringing her claim.
There has been speculation that Mason Greenwood, a footballer for Manchester United, may return to the team following the charges of attempted rape and assault being dropped, and an investigation by club management being concluded. We discuss the issues employers may face where an employee is accused of criminal conduct, and factors employers can consider to move things forward.
Christian Horner has been cleared of misconduct after an investigation conducted by Red Bull, whilst the employee who accused him of inappropriate behaviour has been suspended. We discuss the grounds for suspension of an employee during an investigation, and the importance of carefully considered investigation outcomes for employers.
The Hammersmith and Fulham Council were ordered to pay £4.6 million after dismissing a senior employee who suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after working with Grenfell Tower fire survivors. We discuss the key features of the claim, and why the compensation awarded was larger than what is usually awarded by the Employment Tribunal.

In our latest episode of The Lawdown, Partners Beth Hale and Sarah Chilton, Senior Associate Wonu Sanda and Associate Kia Aoki discuss the following:


Recently published statistics reveal that women of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage are earning on average almost a third less an hour than white British men in the UK. In light of this, we discuss the importance of ethnicity pay gap reporting and whether it should be made mandatory, and the difficulties and limitations that may arise in producing this data. 
The disparity between CEO and worker pay is again making the headlines, following a UK thinktank’s finding that by 1pm on the third working day of the year, a FTSE 100 chief executive will have earned more on an hourly basis than a UK worker’s annual salary. We discuss the issues relating to this disparity, including against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, whether workers should have a say in dictating CEO salaries, and possible alternatives where an employer cannot afford to raise the salaries of its employees. 
Dwight Pile-Gray, a Rastafarian soldier in the British Army, won claims of race discrimination, racial harassment and victimisation in the employment tribunal following an incident where a white colleague didn’t believe he was a soldier based on his appearance. We discuss the Army’s handling of the incident, and what employers can do to ensure incidents like this are properly and fairly investigated. 
Strikes are still dominating the headlines in 2024. We discuss the legal developments relating to industrial action, including the use of agency workers during strikes and the controversy around the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, and the implications of these developments for employers.

In our latest (interesting and non-Christmas themed) episode of The Lawdown, Partner Emma Bartlett and Senior Associate, Wonu Sanda discuss the following:

1. The historical case of Justine Blainey, a teenager, who in the 1980s brought a successful sex discrimination claim in the Supreme Court of Canada, to strike out provisions in the Ontario HR Code which prohibited girls from playing sports with boys, arguing that she should be allowed to play ice hockey with the boys. We discuss how this case parallels the challenges people still face with bullying and sex discrimination in the workplace.



2. Benjamin Mendy, a former Manchester City defender is suing for millions of pounds of unauthorised deductions from his wages during the time he was facing criminal charges. We discuss the employer’s obligations and liabilities when dealing with suspended employees facing investigation.



3. Following the Phillip Schofield incident earlier this year, ITV’s investigation into his affair and the organisation’s culture highlights that he did not co-operate with the investigation due to concerns for his mental wellbeing. We discuss the implications of this and what employers can do when dealing with witnesses who may be suffering from mental health challenges.



4. The Tesla whistleblower, Lukasz Krupski, who leaked data regarding Tesla's braking and self-driving software issues to German newspaper, Handelsblatt, after he felt the concerns he raised internally were ignored by Tesla. We discuss the importance of employers enforcing up-to-date whistleblowing policies and what employers should do concerning mental health issues post-whistleblowing.

We are delighted to share Episode 34 of The Lawdown, our regular podcast discussing the latest key employment, discrimination and partnership law-related news stories, and the interesting legal issues behind them!

In our latest episode of The Lawdown, Partners Emma Bartlett and Beth Hale discuss the following:

1. The Royal Kingston-upon-Thames Council has been ordered by the Employment Tribunal to pay £25,000 in compensation for, amongst other things, failing to update a transgender employee’s name in their system – this is known as deadnaming. We discuss an employer’s duty of care when supporting gender transition in the workplace and the implications of the Tribunal’s findings on employers.



2. Citibank wins an unfair dismissal claim brought by an employee who claimed for two sandwiches and coffees for him and his partner during a business trip. We discuss the relationship of trust and expectation of honesty between employers and employees, particularly in a regulated employment environment.



3. Daniel Ogunshakin, a BBC Sports Journalist, retells his story of being told that he must cut his dreadlocks to progress in his career, in light of reports that former Premier League striker Gifton Noel-Williams has had similar experiences whilst attempting to break into football management. We discuss how racial stereotyping and dress and appearance policies in the workplace can potentially give rise to discrimination claims.



4. Cardiff University Students' Union bans men wearing blue shirts and chinos from certain club nights. We discuss the issue of stereotyping people based on their appearance.

We are delighted to share Episode 33 of The Lawdown, our regular podcast discussing the latest key employment, discrimination and partnership law-related news stories, and the interesting legal issues behind them! 


In our latest episode of The Lawdown, Partners Emma Bartlett and Beth Hale and Senior Associate, Wonu Sanda, discuss the following:

1. The well-known high street chain, Wilko, going into administration and the resultant, unfortunate mass redundancies. We discuss who bears the responsibility for paying wages, notice and redundancy pay when a company goes into administration and the challenges employees may face when seeking to enforce their rights. We also look at the issues surrounding the establishment of collective consultation rights for employees



2. Tennis players struggling in sweltering heat at the US Open and the question of whether it is it ever too hot to work? We answer this and explore the scope of an employer's health and safety obligations in the workplace



3. A significant settlement reached in a disturbing case involving racial harassment claims brought by a probation officer. We discuss what constitutes harassment in the workplace and when an employer can be held vicariously liable for harassment perpetrated by a colleague



4. A recent study which revealed a surprising trend among Britons, who increasingly view work as less important compared to their global counterparts. We query the reasons behind this shift in attitudes toward work, exploring factors such as work-life balance, aging populations and evolving career aspirations

We are delighted to share Episode 32 of The Lawdown, our regular podcast discussing the latest key employment, discrimination and partnership law-related news stories, and the interesting legal issues behind them! 

In our latest episode of The Lawdown, Partner Emma Bartlett, Senior Associate Wonu Sanda, and seconded Trainee Solicitor Sam Whiteley discuss the following:


The legal issues surrounding the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s handling of a sexual misconduct claim against a man in charge of one of its lifeboats (in particular, the question of suspension)
A study published in June by researchers at UCL and the University of the Republic of Uruguay suggesting that having a nap during the day is good for brain health, and could slow the rate at which the brain shrinks with ageing. Are employers taking the benefits of napping seriously, and what obligations do they have to do so?
The issue of equal pay in sports, and particularly football, which has been brought into the spotlight again following the Australian women’s football professional players union posting a video outlining injustices in the pay gap between them and their male counterparts
Finally, the fallout following a reporter asking the captain of the Morocco women’s football team, Ghizlane Chebbak, whether there were any gay players in their squad and what life was like for them in Morocco?


We hope you enjoy our latest episode! Please get in touch by emailing us at info@cm-murray.com if you would like any information on the topics discussed or if you would like to suggest a story for us to cover in a future episode.