ow with 'obnoxious' onager nets £1093
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RIVER who was sacked after a row with an "exceedingly oxious" supermarket manager has been awarded £1,093.50 pensation for unfair dismissal.
elshpool-based Aber Cars Ltd driver H. F. Gizzie s appearing before Shrewry Industrial Tribunal foling an incident when he s delivering goods to Tesco ermarkets.
he tribunal said it did not w what conduct had ually led to Mr Gizzie's dissal but it was reasonable to r that it was because of his ged conduct at the Degh branch of Tesco on June esco had previously cornined about his un Operative attitude and he been disciplined in April. n June 1, Mr Gizzie's dery at Denbigh branch coned of 60 cases. After 49 had n unloaded, the manager plained that six were orrect and in such cumstances Tesco was ened to reject the entire con tnment. The manager did t. r Gizzie thought, and in tribunal's view quite natuly, that that was unreasonle. He telephoned his employers who said Tesco was within its rights, but when he returned to the store he had an altercation with Mr Owen.
Mr Gizzie admitted he had told Mr Owen "to come outside like a man and have a fight." Mr Owen complained to the company and Mr Gizzie was seen by the then managing director, Mr D. I. Marsh, and dismissed. He was not represented effectively by his union and Mr Marsh refused his request that two witnesses of the incident be approached.
In the witness box, Mr Gizzie had struck the Tribunal as a man who was truthful but who could lose control of himself under provocation. It accepted that Mr Owen had used foul language and had said that he would see to it that it was the last time that Mr Gizzie was in Tesco.
The tribunal had formed the impression that Mr Owen was "an extremely obnoxious young man" who was "far too big for his boots" and who felt that his modest managerial position allowed him to use the language of the shopfloor.
The fact that Mr Gizzie lost control of himself did not surprise the tribunal in the least. A customer of a haulage company was not entitled to shower abuse on a driver in the way that Mr Owen had.
Mr Gizzie had acted under great provocation. However the tribunal did not approve of what he had done and as a consequence reduced his compensation by 50 per cent.
They said that if Mr Marsh had investigated the matter properly and obtained Mr Owen's version of the facts and believed that version, then the dismissal might have been fair.
The tribunal had a great deal of difficulty with the case as Mr Marsh had not been called to give evidence. Evidence by Mr Owen would also have been material and if the tribunal had believed him then they might have concluded that the dismissal was fair despite the procedural faults.