There was another twist in Jordan Wimmer's £4 million constructive dismissal case against Nomos Capital founder Mark Lowe this week, as the defendant took the stand.  Lowe admitted to sending sexually explicit emails to female employees and calling Wimmer a "dumb blonde" and "decorative"; he also said he had a "marked preference" for female sales staff, which he justified as "pure commercial sense."  Wimmer also produced one email in which Lowe asked her whether an internship candidate was "cute" or "blonde."

But Lowe rejected Wimmer's claims that he'd hired escorts, who accompanied him to business meetings, and a hitman to kill her.  He also denied accusations that he made sexual advances towards Wimmer, saying he always treated her "in a gentlemanly way."

Former Nomus Capital executive Jordan Wimmer, who is suing ex-boss Mark Lowe for sex discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, unfair constructive dismissal, and disability discrimination, has claimed he hired a Russian hitman to kill her.

Ms. Wimmer has already claimed she was forced to watch father-of-two Lowe have a lap dance at a Burlesque nightclub in Paris and that he invited a young Thai escort wearing "hot pants and stilettos" to a business meeting.

Jordan Wimmer, 29, of Chelsea, west London, says her boss Mark Lowe, founder and owner of Nomos Capital, branded her a "bimbo" and "stupid blonde," and forced her to quit her £500,000-a-year job as a marketing executive.  The Canadian is now suing Lowe for £4 million, claiming sex discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, unfair constructive dismissal, and disability discrimination.

Wimmer claims was forced to watch father-of-two Lowe have a lap dance at a burlesque club in Paris "under great duress."  She also alleges he invited a young Thai escort to business meetings: "In spite of everyone else wearing formal business attire, [the escort] wore hot pants which barely covered her buttocks, stilettos, and no stockings."

Over the past four months, we've taken a look at a number of different laws in the workplace. 

We began with unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal and redundancy.

After that, we looked at retirement and age discrimination - including the default retirement age.

Next, we discussed sexual discrimination (including the gender pay gap); racial discrimination; disability discrimination; and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion, and philosophical belief.

We then considered working hour rules and rest period requirements; workplace health and safety; the right to paid holidays; and national minimum wage law.  We also discussed pregnancy, maternity, and paternity rights.

After this, we looked at the significance of work status and rights for agency workers.

From here, we analysed employee misconduct, whistleblowing, and bullying and workplace harassment.

We next looked at severance pay and employment contracts.

Alan Curbishley has won his case for constructive dismissal against West Ham United.  Curbishley left Upton Park in September 2008 after less than two years in charge - in circumstances very similar to Kevin Keegan's departure from Newcastle United - claiming he was forced to resign because the club ignored a clause in his contract giving him the final word on player transfers.

A Premier League arbitration tribunal unanimously upheld Curbishley's claim and dismissed a counter-claim by West Ham for the cost of employing Gianfranco Zola, his successor, and Steve Clarke, his assistant.  The tribunal will now assess how much compensation the club will have to pay Curbishley for wrongful dismissal.

"I am obviously delighted with this result," Curbishley said.  "I very much enjoyed my time at West Ham and never wanted to leave, but when I joined them I insisted that my contract contain a clause confirming that I would have final say on the selection of players to be transferred to and from the club.

Dismissal or victimisation for blowing the whistle

If someone is dismissed or victimised after blowing the whistle, the level of protection they receive depends on whether they qualify as an employee or worker.

Employees

If an employee is dismissed for whistleblowing, they can claim automatic unfair dismissal - even if they don't have one year's service 

• Normally, under the Employment Rights Act, only employees who have a year's continuity of service at the date of dismissal, or who have been dismissed without notice and are within a week of gaining a year's continuity of service, can make a claim.
  
  
• Note also that in this context the word dismissal includes constructive dismissal.

If an employee is victimised or treated worse after blowing the whistle they can also bring a claim for 'detrimental treatment' (see below).

Ruth Matthews, 60, former head of support services at Inverness Leisure complex, has brought a claim for unfair constructive dismissal against her former employer, alleging she was forced to quit after two years of being "victimised" and "manipulated."

It would seem her relationship with the general manager at the complex, James Martin, lies at the heart of the dispute.  This first became strained in 2007 after he blamed her for an administrative error.

Mr. Martin alleges the incident prompted Ms. Matthews to compile a "black box" against him.  During the hearing, she made a series of allegations, including overstaffing, bullying, cronyism, and favouritism; she also claimed one employee took 27 cigarette breaks in a single shift, which seriously endangered health & safety.

Whistleblowing has received a lot of media attention in recent weeks: we had the Trafigura injunction on the reporting of Paul Farrelly's question in Parliament, which caused a tsunami of protest on Twitter; and before that, we had news of Terry Pearson, a Scottish operations supervisor, who blew the whistle on the extreme hazing activities of ArmorGroup security guards working at the US Embassy in Afghanistan.

Mr. Pearson witnessed drunken parties involving guards urinating and performing sex acts on each order in order to win promotion or assignment to preferable shifts.  After telling his boss, however, he claims he was forced out of his job.

Mr. Pearson told the Daily Record:

"Both as a military officer and a contractor, I have never seen anything as disgusting and ultimately harmful to morale and security as what I saw in Kabul.  But as soon as I said anything, it was definitely a case of 'get rid of the whistleblower'."

Mr. Pearson has struggled to find a new job since he left Afghanistan:

"It's hard because I need a job.  But I don't regret what I did.  I believe I did the right thing."

Indeed, three weeks ago, he was flown to Washington D.C. to give evidence before a US government committee investigating the scandal, which was widely covered by TV networks around the world.

And he now plans to sue his former employer for constructive dismissal.

The arbitration panel convened to settle the long-running dispute between Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United has awarded Keegan £2 million compensation.

It ruled Keegan was constructively dismissed from his post as Newcastle manager after the club signed Uruguayan midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez against his wishes and in breach of his employment contract.

The Guardian reports the award could have been higher but for a clause in Keegan's contract imposing a £2 million compensation ceiling on any pay-off in the event of his dismissal or resignation.

Responding to the panel's verdict, Keegan said:

Constructive dismissal has received a lot of press attention lately.  The recession has seen claims soar and of course there was also Kevin Keegan's case against Newcastle United...

"Hold on," I hear you say, "Keegan wasn't sacked, he resigned." Well, you're right.  But resignation is a prerequisite for constructive dismissal.

In a nutshell, you may have a claim for constructive dismissal if you're forced to resign because of your employer's unlawful behaviour.

To prove constructive dismissal, you must be able to demonstrate that your former employer committed a serious breach of contract, you did not accept the breach, and you felt forced to resign because of that breach.

Examples of serious breaches of contract in this context include the following:

A prison officer who claimed her co-workers hounded her out of her job by repeatedly criticising her for being "too sexy" and "glammed up," has won her case against Her Majesty's Prison Service for unfair constructive dismissal, sexual discrimination, and age discrimination.

In July, Amitjo Kajla, 22, from Wolverhampton, told an employment tribunal how colleagues at Brinsford Young Offenders' Institution complained that she wore too much make-up and that her clothing was too provocative.

A former colleague, Michael Doolan, told the tribunal her appearance was "overbearing" and brought  "unwarranted attention" from inmates.  Mr. Doolan said Ms. Kajla wore a significant amount of make-up including "heavy eyeliner, dark mascara, rouge on her cheeks and embossed lipstick."

Ms. Kajila claimed she was often mocked and reprimanded in front of inmates and other staff, which made her feel harassed and humiliated.  She told the tribunal: "I couldn't sleep at night because of the bullying and harassment.  I lost weight and decided I couldn't take it any longer and resigned."

An arbitration hearing to settle the long-running dispute between Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United has begun.  Keegan reportedly wants £8 million in compensation for being constructively dismissed from his post as Newcastle manager due to a lack of autonomy over transfers.

The Guardian reports a panel consisting of two lawyers and one senior sports administrator will hear evidence from Dennis Wise, Newcastle's former director of football, and also listen to a counter-claim from Mike Ashley, the club's owner, that Keegan is culpable for breach of contract.

It's just over a year since King Kev resigned as manager of Newcastle United and issued the following statement:

"I've been working desperately hard to find a way forward with the directors but sadly that has not proved possible.  It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want.  I have been left with no choice other than to leave."

Shortly after his resignation, Keegan lodged a claim for unfair constructive dismissal.  Keegan is reportedly claiming £10 million in compensation and costs, and a long-awaited tribunal is due to sit next week.

Andrew Beck, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome and learning difficulties, has been awarded £78,000 in compensation for constructive dismissal and disability discrimination.

An employment tribunal ruled Mr. Beck's supervisor bullied and intimidated him for a number of years while he worked as a green keeper at Davyhulme Park Golf Club. 

He was told to wear a red hat to distinguish him from other staff and to alert golfers to his presence.  He was also ordered to carry heavy equipment in a wheelbarrow after he was banned from using a motorised vehicle, meaning that his duties involved an unfair amount of heavy work, often without breaks.

One Christmas, staff received presents -- Mr. Beck was given a Star Wars game, however, and felt humiliated because it was only suitable for children.  On another occasion, his supervisor approached him from behind and violently knocked a rake out of his hands.  He then pushed him out of the way, using bad language.

Mr. Beck eventually resigned due to poor health.