'Horse and cart' driven through dismissal rules
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• Ian McLeod (Carriers), of Kilmarnock, has been ordered to pay £2,037 compensation for unfair dismissal to a driver sacked following complaints from one of its principal customers.
A Glasgow Industrial Tribunal said that though Peter Taylor had received previous written warnings, and the firm held a disciplinary inquiry, the dismissal was unfair because no enquiry was made into the complaints.
McLeod accepted what the customer had said without putting the complaints to Taylor for his comments. And they did not advise him of his right to be represented or about his right of appeal. It said they had 'driven a horse and cart through the required procedure'.
Reducing the compensation it would otherwise have awarded by two thirds, on grounds of contributory fault, the tribunal said Taylor had admitted failing to telephone his employers to report as instructed, causing difficulty with their major customer, refusing to obey orders, carrying an unauthorised passenger, and using his vehicle on a Sunday without authority.