Heather Mills and the nanny – employment dilemmas

Here at the employment law blog for BEST Solicitors LLP, we are keeping a beady eye firmly fixed on the ongoing Heather Mills employment Tribunal saga. Mrs Mills’ former nanny, Sara Trumble, has complained to the Tribunal that she was “taken advantage of” by Mrs Mills and forced to work during her maternity leave.

The nanny has also accused Mrs Mills of forcing her to accompany the family on long and exhausting trips abroad during a difficult pregnancy. Later on in the employment, Ms Trumble’s diary shows that as the Mills/McCartney children grew older, her job changed from that of a nanny to housekeeper.

We at the blog are fully aware of Heather Mills’ documented distrust of lawyers and the legal system in general and we fully anticipate a vigorous defence from la Mills. We’ll keep you posted.

Ms Trumble is seeking compensation for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal. The hearing is at the Ashford Employment Tribunal.

Left holding the baby…

In an unusual move, the High Court recently overturned the decision by a professional body to strike off a midwife on charges of misconduct.

Eunice Ogbonna had been struck off after allegations against her were found to be proved by the Nursing & Midwifery Council.  However, the key witness against Ms Ogbonna, Betty Pilgrim, was not brought to the hearing which made the findings of misconduct.  She had left the UK to live abroad and there was no severe pressure put on her to return to the UK to give oral evidence.  Rather, her written statement was accepted in evidence by the Council.

The High Court ruled that this was not acceptable, since there was clear evidence of “bad feeling” between Ms Pilgrim and Ms Ogbonna.  Ms Pilgrim had been the key witness against Ms Ogbonna and was the only witness to some of the alleged events. 

The judge ruled the Council’s findings could not stand and that Ms Ogbonna had been deprived of a fair hearing.  There had been no attempt to secure the attendance of Ms Pilgrim at the hearing either in person, or by a video link.  In the circumstances, where there was “bad feeling”, it was appropriate for the witness to have been cross-examined, particularly where someone’s livelihood was at stake. 

Employers should always bear in mind that cross-examination of witnesses can be crucial to reaching a safe and fair decision.  Cross-examination is all the more important where there is known bad feeling between witnesses or allegations of bad faith.  The Independent has also covered this story in detail.

A brave new dawn for older workers?

Speaking this week at the annual conference of the Employers’ Forum on Age (EFA), Harriet Harman, who holds the Government brief on equality, commented that “public policy and employment patterns” had to change “significantly” to accommodate older people in the workforce. Along with a review of the default retirement age later this year, she signals the Government’s intent to increase the participation of older people in the workforce for decades to come.

The writer can see the sense of the overall approach – a default retirement age, where someone effectively loses their job simply by virtue of having a birthday – can be seen to be discriminatory in nature. If a worker has the qualifications, motivation and skills to perform a role, why stop at 65?

However, there is some dissent amongst groups representing younger workers. In this recession, the hardest hit have been younger age groups. Bad-tempered whispers about “bed-blockers” and “timeservers” preventing youngsters from entering the job market can only grow louder if the current harsh economic conditions continue.

Study reveals major cause of grievances

A study published today has shed light on HR professionals’ views on the causes of grievances in the workplace.  The study, conducted by London law firm Speechly Bircham and King’s College London, quizzed HR managers on grievance procedures and what caused grievances to be lodged.

Nearly forty percent of HR professionals blamed bad relationships between employees and line managers as the main cause of grievances lodged last year.  This is up from only 1% in 2008.  HR professionals also report that the onset of the recession seems to have contributed to harassment and bullying, which has doubled to being the cause of 30% of grievances last year. 

The authors of the study commented that management have had to be tougher during the recession and obviously conditions have become more stressful for all staff.  The heightened need for people to look out for themselves has perhaps caused a breakdown in relationships between senior management, middle management and general staff.  Methods recommended to try and reduce the filing of grievances include training managers in effective leadership and management, and better communication generally between employees, focused on motivation and team building.

Dismissed for that slice of cheese too many…

Red faces at McDonalds in the Netherlands earlier this week, where they lost a claim brought by a former employee. 

The employee had been dismissed for giving a work colleague a cheeseburger for her lunch, rather than the hamburger which is a standard “perk” of the job.  McDonalds claimed the upgraded food item breached their strict gift policy which aims to prevent staff giving free food away to friends.

The judge ruled that the dismissal was not fair and awarded the employee five months’ compensation, which represented the length of time left of their contract.  The reason?  The judge believed that dismissal was far too harsh a sanction, when in his view “a written warning would be sufficient.”

The moral of this cheesy tale?  Employers beware – even where you believe you have your employee “bang to rights” in a disciplinary scenario, take care to act reasonably and fairly, or you might face action.  Fairness requires that punishment is not disproportionate to the original misconduct.  Consider the employee’s length of service and previous disciplinary history in all cases.

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