Driver refused to drive on M-ways
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• A Carlisle-based driver, who was sacked for refusing to make a delivery because he was scared of motorways, has been advised to drop claims of unfair dismissal.
Howard Waugh, a driver for Hull-based Humber Growers, would take detours between Carlisle and Hull to avoid motorways.
He was dismissed on 8 June after refusing to take a delivery via Middleton because It meant travelling on the M62. Transport manager Gary Roantree told the tribunal that Waugh was sent into a panic at the request and refused to go, saying: "I can't I just can't."
After Waugh waited in his cab for two hours, Roantree dismissed him without notice or holiday pay. A later request to discuss the dismissal was refused, but Waugh was paid £200 in lieu of notice. Roantree said: "He just said he had a mental block."
The tribunal found the way in which Waugh was dismissed was procedurally unfair: he was given no warning and kept waiting in his cab, clearly distressed state, for two hours.
Chairman of the bench David Trotter said: "Although you were unfairly dismissed it would have been impossible for you to continue working there."
Waugh was advised to withdraw the claim for unfair dismissal and was awarded £1,500 for the estimated eight weeks it would have taken for the procedure to have been carried out correctly.