Recently in Wrongful Dismissal Category

A senior Commonwealth official, Mark Collins, has been sacked following investigations into allegations of racist bullying at the Commonwealth Foundation.

The Commonwealth Foundation is an inter-governmental organisation set up to support and strengthen the societies of the 54 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. It reports to and is funded by the governments of the member states.

Mark Collins' dismissal is the second incident in recent times in which the organisation's attitude towards non-white employees has come into question. A former employee, Anish Rajapakse, is bringing a claim for wrongful dismissal against the Foundation after she was dismissed for revealing the allegedly racially motivated and sexist bullying at the group.

According to a report in the Daily Express newspaper, Ray Wilkins was sacked by Chelsea because of bust-ups with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich and chief executive Ron Gourlay -- and not, as previously reported in the Guardian, because first-team players were 'unconvinced by his ability'.

Carlo Ancelotti may soon be following Ray Wilkins out of Stamford Bridge if weekend press reports are to be believed. The Chelsea Football Club manger is evidently considering his future at the club after his former assistant was abruptly fired last week.

The Pensioners have lost two games and squandered a six point lead over their premiership rivals Manchester United since Wilkins's departure. Following the 1-0 loss against Birmingham City on Saturday, Ancelotti conceded he does not have "total control of the team" and that it was "not my decision" to dismiss Wilkins.

According to a Chelsea source quoted in the Telegraph and Guardian, the Italian now believes "something is broken" at the club. The same source describes him as being at his "lowest ebb" and "concerned that he let Wilkins down".

A professional gardener who alleges he was sacked because he strongly opposes blood sports has commenced employment tribunal action for unlawful discrimination.

Joe Hashman, 42, claims the owners of Orchard Park Garden Centre in Gillingham, Dorset -- fox hunters Sheila and Ron Clarke -- sacked him after they found out he secretly filmed celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson-Wright at an illegal hare coursing event in North Yorkshire in March 2007. Apparently the footage was used to successfully convict Dickson-Wright, 63, of an offence under the Hunting Act last year in a private prosecution brought by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The very public falling out between chef Gordon Ramsay and his father-in-law and former business partner Chris Hutcheson appears to be heading to the courts, according to the Daily Mail.

Hutcheson, 62, worked as CEO for Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH), the corporate entity that oversees Ramsay's world-renowned restaurants in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and North America, for 12 years before he was unceremoniously sacked on October 16.

Ramsay initially refused to comment publicly on what he described as a "private family matter". But, after being sacked, Hutcheson described his son-in-law as "a monster' and was reported as saying that 'I know where Gordon's bodies are buried".

This prompted the former Rangers footballer to issue a scathing open letter to the Evening Standard in which he called Hutcheson "a dictator" and claimed that when he told staff his father-in-law was going, "you could see the relief and joy in their faces".

The Irish greenkeeper hired by Donald Trump to take care of the links course at the billionaire's £750m resort at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire is considering a claim for wrongful dismissal according to his solicitor.

Paul O'Connor, 43, was headhunted by Trump after winning plaudits for his work at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Before hiring him, Trump said O'Connor's "years of training and experience at Carnoustie made him an obvious choice" to become the links superintendent at Menie.

Less than a year into the job, however, and O'Connor is now considering tribunal action for compensation after he was sacked last week.

Former BBC1 presenter Miriam O'Reilly appeared before an employment tribunal in London yesterday on the first day of a hearing on her claims for sexual discrimination and age discrimination.

Ms O'Reilly, 53, worked at the BBC for over 25 years and presented the rural affairs programme Countryfile until she was axed in November 2008 as part of a widely publicised 'revamp' of the show.

On the first day of the tribunal hearing, Ms O'Reilly submitted a witness statement in which she alleges that nine months before she was sacked Countryfile's director Dean Jones warned her "to be careful with those wrinkles when high definition comes in".

'He said that would be "crunch time" for my BBC career,' added Ms Reilly, who wrote the comments 'sent a shiver down my spine'.

Shortly afterward, Louise Pyne, another director of the programme, told her "it's time for Botox".

A bus driver accused of handing out tickets to customers and pocketing the cash has launched an employment tribunal claim for constructive dismissal against the company after a court threw out a criminal case against her.

Catherine Bates, 39, worked for Mike de Courcey Travel Ltd in Coventry until the company found a £21.60 discrepancy in her takings and reported the matter to the police.

The company said she had stolen the cash, but as it turned out someone had added up the totals from a spreadsheet incorrectly and she had actually overpaid her employer.

Prosecutors did not spot the error until the day she was due to stand trial at Coventry Crown Court last month, whereupon the judge immediately threw out the case against her.

An Edinburgh employment tribunal has ordered expenses scandal MP Jim Devine to pay his former assistant Marion Kinley £35,000 in compensation for bullying and harassment.

Ms Kinley, 47, from Glasgow, also won claims for breach of contract and unfair constructive dismissal after the tribunal ruled Mr Devine bullied and harassed her out of her job.

A former oboist at Welsh National Opera, who is claiming wrongful dismissal, has accused former conductor Carlo Rizzi of "bullying" at an employment tribunal in Cardiff this week.

Oboe player Murray "Sandy" Johnston, 61, was sacked in 2008 after playing for the company for 34 years.

He says Rizzi began singling him out for criticism in 2004. He told Johnston to work on his "ensemble playing" (i.e., playing with a group of other musicians) and blending the sound of the oboe with the rest of the woodwind section, and then with the wider orchestra.

A former Radio Clyde breakfast show DJ has lodged an employment tribunal claim against the station alleging sex discrimination.

Comic Des McLean, 43, was laid off in August and replaced by co-presenters Suzie McGuire and George Bowie.

He claims the station's managers told him that they preferred a "male/female combination" for their morning show and organised a champagne party to celebrate the shake-up.

A Guernsey panel beater subjected to months of sustained abuse and victimisation after he raised concerns about the level of noise at his place of work has won £13,104 in compensation for constructive dismissal.

An employment tribunal said John Thompson Autorestorers Limited likely identified Ian England as a "trouble maker" after he decided to "blow the whistle" and take his concerns about workplace noise to a health and safety officer at the States of Guernsey's Commerce and Employment Department.

Csaba Laszlo, former manager of Heart of Midlothian FC, will appear before an employment tribunal in Edinburgh next week in an attempt to win compensation for unfair dismissal and breach of contract.

The 46-year-old Hungarian lost his job in January in rather bizarre circumstances. Hearts were doing well in the league at the time and his dismissal came only six months after he scooped two Manager of the Year awards, having guided the club to third spot in the SPL during the 2008-9 season.

"We were doing well, seven games unbeaten in the league having played both Celtic and Rangers," Laszlo told the Times. "We were also in the League Cup semi-finals, which was great for the club because they hadn't been in a final since 1997.

A group of teachers recently laid off at a special needs school in Glasgow have decided to sue for wrongful dismissal.

CORA Foundation, a not-for-profit company owned by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, decided to close Springboig St John's School, which provided residential and day care for boys with severe emotional and behavioural needs, in June.

Around 80 jobs, including 14 teaching posts, were lost as a result of the closure.

Teacher George Carroll worked at St John's for 30 years, but received just £8,300 in redundancy pay. Mr Carroll said: "You bring these kids up, you don't just teach them.

"After 30 years service I have been left with a wife and five children to provide for, with no job and less than £9,000.

"We teach under the auspices of the Catholic Church: our employers have a moral obligation to look after their staff and the pupils."

A former vice president at bankrupt financial services firm Lehman Brothers has alleged the company's administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers, sacked her while on maternity leave because they only wanted 'staff who were there'.

Elizabeth Spencer, 35, is now suing Nomura Holdings - the company that acquired Lehman following its spectacular collapse during the September 2008 banking crisis - for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination. She is claiming £150,000 in damages.

Ms Spencer formerly worked as an officer in the Army Intelligence Corps. She joined Lehman in 2006 as part of their security team and won quick-fire promotion to vice president in December 2007.

Less than a year later the investment monolith was declared bankrupt and Ms Spencer started maternity leave. Soon afterward, however, the company laid off 800 workers. Ms Spencer claims bosses overlooked her for alternative roles and dismissed her purely because she was away caring for her newborn son.

Last week, before an employment tribunal in Stratford, east London, Daphne Romney, QC, representing Ms Spencer, said: 'There isn't a single piece of paper that shows [the company] made any discussion of the claimant and what she could do.'