Driver's clear-cut case
Page 17
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• A lorry driver sacked after he delivered a load of contaminated sand to a firm of glass makers has been awarded £5,253.41 compensation for unfair dismissal by the Sheffield industrial tribunal.
The tribunal was told that his employers, Morris Bros. (Hircotes), felt the sand had become contaminated with coal dust because driver Brian Sawyer had not cleaned his vehicle out properly and had failed to sheet it overnight. The incident could have had serious repercussions for the company's most important customer. Holding that the dismissal was unfair the tribunal said that the company had failed to consider Sawyer's 18 years of service.
They had not given him any opportunity of giving assurances of future good behaviour which might have made a difference.
The tribunal felt that a responsible employer would have seriously considered a final written warning instead.
In calculating the amount of compensation the tribunal held that Sawyer had contributed to his own dismissal by 25% through his negligence.