Managers sacked
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CONTAINERWAY and Roadferry, a National Freight Consortium subsidiary, sacked three management personnel from its Barking container clearance depot in Essex, including the general manager, because they had made a Ulm bid to purchase the depot.
The three, general manager Ramon Neil, sales manager Harry Child and administration manager Peter Young, are claiming compensation for unfair dismissal before a London industrial tribunal.
Jonathon Lawton, for Containerway and Roadferry, said that during a management meeting Mr Neil had shown a number of other managers a letter making an offer to purchase the depot of which he was general manager.
It was brought to the attention of the managing director.
The company was concerned because Mr Neil had previously been warned about the lack of performance of the Barking de
pot. • The coincidence of that lack of performance and Mr Neil's offer to buy the depot at an advantageous price could not be ignored.
At no stage had Mr Neil discussed the offer with the managing director and making it known publicly as he did could hardly have been calculated to do greater damage.
Confidential information must have been provided to others outside the company to enable the offer to be made. It later transpired that day-to-day details of the trading accounts had been given to others.
Contrary to the terms of their employment, the three men had failed to notify the company of an outside interest and they had used confidential information to their own personal benefit and to the detriment of the company.
For the three men, it was said that the offer had been made because they thought that in some time in the future NFC would wish to dispose of the depot. They wanted to register an interest in order to save as many jobs as possible.
It was argued that it was an exploratory offer which did not as such constitute an outside interest. No customers had been approached.
• -The offer was tentative and made against a background of falling business and low morale among the staff at Barking.
Brian Wilson, NFC's director of personnel, said the conduct of the three men struck at the very heart of the confidence and trust the company had in its management staff.
The fact that the staff of NFC had bought themselves from Government should not be seen as a licence for people to hive off bits of the business for themselves. Reginald Freeman, managing director of Containerway and Roadferry, denied that there had been a personality clash between him and Mr Neil.
In evidence both Mr Child and Mr Young said that they had thought that their notification of their offer to a property company was a sufficient declaration of an outside interest. They both agreed they were equal partners with Mr Neil.