Hudhaul to compensate sacked driver by £3,365
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• West Midlands haulage contrac tor Hudhaul Transport has been ordered to pay £3,365 compensation for unfair dismissal to a sacked driver.
The company said it believed the driver was speeding and breaking hours rules when he hit the central reservation of the motorway following an accident.
A Birmingham Industrial Tribunal was told that Leonard Watson was sacked for gross misconduct after several warnings.
In November Watson was involved in a collision when his vehicle struck the central reservation on a motorway. He was not disciplined for this at the time, on the basis that the accident was not the driver's fault.
The police removed the tacho
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graph chart, returning it some time later in January.
No police charges were made following an official examination of the chart. But the company said its analysis of the chart revealed Watson had been speeding and breaking hours rules when the collision occurred.
Watson denied both allegations. but was still dismissed.
Ruling that the dismissal was unfair, the Tribunal said that there had been no reasonable investigation of the alleged driving offences; and Watson was called to a meeting without being told it was a disciplinary meeting or that he could have a friend or representative present.
However, the Tribunal also said Watson's attitude did not help his case and it calculated that he was 30% at fault.