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Dismissed in unfair manner

29th July 1993, Page 12
29th July 1993
Page 12
Page 12, 29th July 1993 — Dismissed in unfair manner
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Hull fish haulier Albert Baxter agreed to pay £3,000 compensation to lorry driver Barry Gould after a Hull Industrial Tribunal decided that the way the company had dismissed him was unfair.

Class 1 LGV driver Gould had been employed by the company since March 1983. He was sacked after refusing to start work at midnight on 3 January.

The company held valuable fish contracts and its vehicles had to be at the docks when ships arrived. The stated arrival times could vary by hours.

Managing director Albert Baxter said Gould agreed to work on 3 January and he had been told the job would start at 22:00hrs. At 17:00hrs he telephoned Gould to say the ship would not be docking until midnight. Gould said he was not prepared to start work at this time and later refused again. Baxter then told Gould he need not attend work at all.

The Tribunal said Gould needed to be flexible; it took the view he refused to obey a lawful and proper instruction, That could have amounted to sufficient reason for dismissal, But the way Baxter sacked Gould was inappropriate as Gould had worked for the company for nearly 10 years with an unblemished record. Baxter failed to warn Gould that repeated refusals could lead to his dismissal.

However, the Tribunal felt Gould was slightly more to blame than Baxter.

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Organisations: Hull Industrial Tribunal

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