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Elan sacking reasonable
Page 23
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• Elan International did not act unreasonably in sacking a driver who had lost an international journey permit in France. That was the decision of a Nottingham industrial tribunal when it rejected a claim for compensation for unfair dismissal from the driver concerned, Norman Lindley.
The tribunal said the dismissal was fair because of the importance to the company of the permit, both financially and commercially. It was a document that had to stay in the possession of the driver, being a necessary document to bring the vehicle out of France.
Lindley had been unable to account satisfactorily for the loss of the permit and the company blamed him for it. The consequences of the loss were not yet fully known as the permit remained the property of the Department of Transport and had to be returned to them within 15 days of its expiry date.
Failure to return the permit might make it difficult for the company to obtain another one and at the moment it did not know the DTp's attitude. Lindley had not been dismissed outright: he had been told that the company was unable to continue to employ him as an international driver. He had been offered alternatives entailing less responsibility but felt unable to accept them.
The company was not unreasonable in taking this attitude, said the tribunal.