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Truck driver WINS £28,000 from firm in liquidation
Page 20
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The award for unfair dismissal comes after the driver was asked by his employer to ignore drivers' hours legislation. Peter Swingier reports.
A TRUCK DRIVER has been awarded more than £28,000 after complaining he was sacked because he opposed driving excessive hours and risking prosecution.
Ron Ellis had been employed by Blackwell Logistics of Birmingham. which has since gone into liquidation,Birmingham EmploymentTribunal was told.He sought compensation for unfair dismissal.
Ellis alleged the Blackwell management was attempting to reopen the firm under another name and that he and eight other truck drivers who had been sacked opposed the move. He said the flashpoint came after he had driven to Felixstowe for the firm. He said he telephoned his boss to say that if he returned to Birmingham straight away, he would be exceeding the permitted number of driving hours, When Ellis eventually returned, he alleged his boss told him he was sacked because he had disobeyed instructions.
"I was expected to drive 120 hours a week without sufficient rest periods and I wasn't the only driver who refused to do it." Ellis said.
-The management was a law unto itself.
Tribunal chairwoman Kay Tucker said Ellis's claim was well founded and awarded him £28,210.
The amount included a 50% increase because the firm had failed to carry out the correct disciplinary and dismissal procedure in accordance with the Employment Rights Act.
The award also included 11,700 in holiday pay as well as £26 to cover the amount Ellis had had to pay to park his truck on several occasions while making deliveries. He had complained the company had failed to reimburse him.
Ellis is hoping to receive some of the money from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and from the firm's assets.