1 (d) Peter Hopkins (aka Mr Hocus Pocus, the Friendly Wizard) was a manager at Legal & General as well as being an amateur magician and entertainer. When he performed at a christening party he was seen by a member of his employer’s HR team, who was in the audience. He was sacked for gross misconduct, having already been caught doing this once before.
2 (b) Joseph Creegan sued after he was dismissed for having an affair. He is said to have compiled a dossier exposing ‘raging alcoholism and secret affairs’ within the Church.
3 (c) Ms Noah’s application was rejected after she arrived at interview wearing a headscarf. She was awarded £4,000 for injury to feelings as a result of religious discrimination. The owner of the salon said afterwards: “I never in a million years dreamt that somebody would be completely against the display of hair and be in this industry.”
4 (c) The 63-year-old was dismissed after complaints about her manner. One complainant said: “Beryl is barely civil to me.”
5 (a) A bald retired teacher was taunted by pupils, and claimed compensation for disability discrimination. His claim was rejected. Tribunal judge Robert Gall said: “If baldness was to be regarded as an impairment then perhaps a physical feature such as a big nose, big ears or being smaller than average height might of themselves be regarded as an impairment.” Depression, broken bones and dyslexia are all capable of being disabilities.
6 (d) Mike Hammond offered £7 an hour for someone to take his elderly father, Jack, to the pub for a beer. Hammond senior had recently moved into a care home, but found that he had no-one to go with him to his local for a pint.
7 (b) Sharon Legg claimed that she was called ‘breeder’ and ‘straight’ by her boss. The tribunal agreed that she was harassed on the grounds of her sexual orientation – ie, her heterosexuality – and awarded £3,000 for injury to feelings. Legg was also awarded compensation for unfair dismissal.
8 (d) Isaac Blake played one of the Tombliboos in the children’s TV show In The Night Garden. He was awarded £2,000 following homophobic comments, but lost his claim for unfair dismissal.
9 (c) In Carran v Mellors Hotel Limited, Mrs Carran appealed against the rejection of her unfair dismissal claim. She alleged bias, as the Employment Judge who heard the claim had wished the witness a good morning. The Employment Judge had shown no more than “ordinary courtesy”, said the appeal Judge.
10 (a) A new immigration system was launched in February. Applicants are now awarded points for matters such as aptitude, skills, experience, age and the labour demands. Maybe next year for the ‘parental leave plus’ rule.
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