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£15,000 payout for boss
Page 32
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who sacked driver hastily
AN OPERATOR who sacked a driver after blaming him for damaging his vehicle's engine has been ordered to pay more than £15,000 compensation for unfair dismissal. Edinburgh-based M&M Road Surfacing was ordered to pay truck driver George Jack £15,062 by an Edinburgh Employment Tribunal after it concluded that he had been unfairly dismissed by the firm.
The tribunal was told that Jack had been summarily dismissed for gross misconduct after the engine of his truck was severely damaged.Alistair McGowan, a partner in M&M, told Jack that the engine was "knackered", saying that he must have driven the vehicle with its warning buzzers on.
However, Jack explained , that he had pulled over when the buzzer came on. McGowan insisted that he must have driven for a period of time with the buzzers on. Jack tried to put forward his explanation but McGowan did not appear to listen. McGowan told Jack that the engine would cost several thousand pounds to repair, saying: -Do you want to pay for it? You are sacked. Get out of my office."
Holding that the dismissal was unfair, the Tribunal said there was insufficient evidence for McGowan to draw the conclusion that Jack was at fault, he did not listen to the driver's case and had no basis for his belief that Jack had continued driving with the warning buzzers sounding long enough to damage the engine.