Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A truck driver

A transport company

Representatives

self

Company owner

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977

CA-00035450-001

26/03/2020

The Complainant is a truck driver and commenced employment with the Respondent on 26th June 2013. This employment ended on 25th March 2020.

The Complainant worked 55 hours per week and earned €851.93 gross per week.

This complaint was received by the Workplace Relations Commission on 26th March 2020.

On 25th March 2020 the Complainant was asked to go to the docks to collect a trailer that was getting new tyres fitted. When he arrived at the tyre depot he attempted to hitch up to a trailer that the fitter was still working underneath. He hitched the trailer up knocked the trailer off the jack while the tyre fitter was still underneath.

The fitter told him to wait and what he had done was dangerous but despite this he attempted to hitch up again while the fitter was still underneath. This resulted in the fitter banging his head and his side pinched by the tyre, the fitter was in shock by this turn of events. The Complainant did not acknowledge what he had done or apologise, and he then proceeded to drive off at speed.

The Complainant arrived back in his own depot and was confronted by the Respondent who was already aware of the incident.

When the Complainant was questioned by the Respondent as to the whereabouts of the trailer he stated that the tyre people had not finished. It was then explained to the Complainant that he was supposed to collect the trailer, proceed to the docks to pick up a load and return with the trailer to the depot. During this interchange the Complainant did not mention the incident with the tyre fitter.

The Respondent instructed the Complainant to park the truck in its place in the yard, he drove over erratically and aggressively to the parking spot and got out and started shouting at the Respondent and allegedly was verbally abusive, making foul comments about the Respondent’s family.

As the Complainant’s behaviour was becoming more aggressive towards the Respondent he was asked by the Respondent to leave the yard, there had been no mention of the incident in the tyre depot as the Respondent was nervous of the Complainant’s behaviour and did not want to heighten his aggression. The Respondent suffers from Parkinson’s disease and has a bad tremor that gets worse in stressful situations. The Respondent did not want this to happen in front of the Complainant.

The Respondent then went to the tyre depot to check if the tyre fitter was ok and to offer any assistance and an apology.

Previous to this incident the Complainant had been persistent in trying to leave work early as he also works with his wife who runs a very busy Bed & Breakfast. The Respondent was aware of this and had told the Complainant he did not mind but that it could not interfere with his duties as an employee of his company.  

The Complainant did not return to the yard after this and the Respondent contends that he heard nothing from the Complainant until he received an email asking about back pay plus dates of last working for Social Welfare purposes.

The Respondent is adamant that the Complainant was not dismissed but told to leave the yard that day because of his aggression and behaviour and the serious nature of the incident which could have gravely injured the tyre fitter.

Prior to this incident the Respondent contends that the Complainant’s attitude towards other drivers had been one of intimidation and he had constantly wanted the early jobs, so he could go home early to help his wife in the Bed & Breakfast. The Respondent states that he had to “pull him up” on several occasions about this.

The Complainant’s brother is employed by the Respondent as transport manager. The Complainant would often make things difficult for the brother.

The Respondent also alleges that the largest customer informed him that the Complainant s often late arriving and warned the Respondent that if the performance did not improve it could be detrimental to the Respondent’s business. When the Respondent brought this subject up with the Complainant his performance did not improve.

In relation to safety checks on the vehicles which are a standard requirement of the Road Transport Authority the Complainant failed to carry out the check one day and this resulted in in wheel damage to the truck that cost a substantial amount to repair.

The Complainant got so stressed on two occasions that he resigned over the telephone, the cause of the stress was that he was needed to help his wife in the Bed and Breakfast.

The Respondent concluded by stating that he had been in the transport business for over 50 years and that he ran a good company. He depends on employees and feels he treats them well and is fair. He helps employees out as much as he can if they have problems and claims to be very approachable.

The complaint made to the WRC was strictly for an unfair dismissal which took place on March 25, 2020. I started working for the Respondent on June 26, 2013, without ever receiving any terms of employment or a written contract of employment. According to Irish legislation employees should receive the terms and conditions of employment within the 2 first two months of employment.

From the beginning of his employment, the Complainant contends he was asked to carry out tasks which sometimes were not related to the main job of delivering goods. Examples include washing the trucks or buying truck parts for unauthorised repairs in the yard by unauthorised mechanics, with his own money, which was reimbursed later.

As a result of this, on one occasion the Complainant contends that he lost his rear wheel whilst driving. This incident endangered his life and the life of other drivers. The Complainant states that he always carried out his tasks as asked without complaining. However, the working days got longer and longer but he never dared to question this as he never received his terms of employment to state the working hours he was expected to do plus any overtime arrangements and so on. In his 7 years at the company, he never received any complaints about his work until after he was dismissed.

When the Transport Manager was away on holidays the Complainant was the one who took over. This included being in constant contact with the main customer. The Complainant contends that he has never received a complaint either verbally or in writing from this main customer. If he was the person his boss described him as he would not have been trusted with such responsibilities.

The company also had a contract with another work provider (customer 2) separate to the main customer (customer 1). The drivers were expected to carry out the deliveries for customer 2 during the day, in between the customer 1 deliveries, this resulted, at times, which he was late arriving at customer 1.

Customer 1 operates a tracking system through which the Respondent’s trucks are tracked. On multiple occasions, the Complainant contends, that he was asked to lie and switch it off so customer 1 couldn’t know that he had been working for customer 2. This increased the pressure and the Complainant had to deal with angry Customer one agents for being late

The Complainant contends that the only thing detrimental to the company is the poor management,

poor safety regulations, the lack of communication and the failure to comply with employment legislation.

There were days in which the Complainant was working 11-12 hours (the digital tachograph can prove this). In his statement, his boss, the Respondent has claimed that he is running a successful business. The Complainant contends that the employees have asked for wage increases on multiple occasions but were turned down each time.

In May 2019 the Respondent agreed to increase the wages but after one week he changed his mind due to the ‘poor financial performance’ of the company. The Complainant feels this doesn't seem right and professional and it emphasises a lack of respect for his employees.

Regarding the Bank Holiday weekend of August 2019 when the Transport Manager was away, the Respondent expected the Complainant and his only colleague working that day to make 8 deliveries on the Bank Holiday when port hours are restricted. The Complainant expressed his concerns about the feasibility of this and asked his boss to cancel 2 deliveries. The response was negative, and the Respondent asked the two employees to start in the middle of the night on Monday of the Bank Holiday. The Complainant contends that the Respondent showed no respect towards him or his health. Due to this event, the Complainant became ill and took medical leave. Medical reports are available.

After a while the Complainant started standing up for himself and demanded a contract of employment and a list of duties, he requested this on numerous occasions. Due to this, he feels that he experienced verbal bullying and was called names which he will not repeat.

The Complainant alleges that the Respondent refused to provide any safety equipment whatsoever after being asked on a few occasions.

After the August incident, the Complainant kept asking about his contract of employment and a list of duties but was constantly turned down.

The Complainant refers to the Respondent’s statement and in particular to the point of his constantly wanting to leave early to help his wife. The Complainant states that

“My wife’s business has nothing to do with my personal job whatsoever”.

The guesthouse has just been used as an excuse by the Respondent. The Complainant has clearly stated that “If he were unhappy with my performance he should have brought it up either verbally or in writing, but he has never done this in my 7 years of service”.

On the day of the dismissal, after he finished his deliveries he was asked to go pick up a

trailer which was dropped off by his boss at a tyre depot. When the Complainant arrived on the premises he proceeded to turn his truck around in order to park in front of the trailer at a safe distance from the trailer as the yard is very narrow.

The following are the Complainant’s own words:

“As I was reversing I saw the fitter in my mirror rolling a wheel towards the trailer. When he saw me reverse he probably thought I wanted to hook the truck up to the trailer. He came up to my truck and aggressively opened my door and started verbally abusing me saying that he isn’t done the job and told me it will take him 45 more minutes. He looked very unhappy and overwhelmed by the large workload he was supposed to do. (6 tyres and 6 rims). I was shocked by the way he treated me as a customer. I have never seen anyone opening my door and yelling at me. It is worth noting that I have been to the tyre depot multiple times before and not once have I had any problems with any of the fitters. His statement about me endangering his life is nothing but an exaggeration. I immediately reported this to my Transport Manager (I have been in contact with my network provider to show the time the call went out). Because of the poor treatment I received, I decided to leave the premises and return to my yard to discuss this with my boss. Right after I left the fitter’s yard I was phoned by my boss and I was yelled at. He demanded me to wait until the job was done, although this was after I finished my deliveries for the day. The fitter’s statement was sent after my dismissal, and this shows my boss’ desperate attempts to pull something on me.

Furthermore, in the email sent to my boss on April 16, the tyre company claim that I signed the docket (docket no.94213) whereas in the previous claim the fitter said that I never left my cabin, but instead drove out of the yard. When I arrived in our yard I could not explain what happened because my boss was yelling and being verbally aggressive. His first words were “I’m sick of you” and he told me to “get the f*** out of the yard”, to pack my things and never return (to me, this sounded like a dismissal).

He made obscene gestures, walked away for 5 meters and waited for me to take my things and leave. I did not use the same language as him because I was shocked by the things he said and because I respect people who are older than me, and never in my 7 years made any comments about him because he was the first person to offer me a job when I moved to Ireland. The only thing I said before turning my back and leaving was “Now I understand why your son is not talking to you”. Having said this, he made a comment about my wife’s business. He claimed that he hadn’t heard from me ever since when in fact I sent him an email that same night. The email was sent

on March 25 at 19:56 pm.

The Complainant went on to state:

“His comments about my abusive behaviour and so on are nothing but pure fiction.

Everything went down at the start of a global pandemic when both my wife and my son lost their jobs so no one in their right mind would’ve given up their job on purpose. I believe I was dismissed unfairly, and I hope this can be seen and solved. I don’t want any other drivers experiencing what I experienced because our jobs are crucial in keeping goods flowing into and out of the country. I hope justice can be made and I wish to move past this event”.

The Respondent organisation do not have any policies or procedures in relation to employees. The Complainant was never issued with a statement of the particulars of his employment (commonly referred to as a contract).

There are two different versions of events that took place on25th March 2020. The Respondent contends that he told the Complainant to leave the yard as his behaviour was becoming more aggressive and verbally abusive.

The Complainant contends that he was told “I am sick of you” by the Respondent who then proceeded to tell the Complainant to “get the f*** out of the yard”.

On the evening of 25th March, the Complainant sent the Respondent an email. This email included the following:

Hi Jim,

“Today, you told me to take my things and leave, and that you don’t need my services anymore, implying a dismissal. I will require a written statement or email from you to confirm this. ……..”

Not only did the Respondent fail to reply to this email but through his statement claimed that the Complainant did not return to the yard after that and he heard nothing from him until he received an email asking for back pay plus dates of last working day for Social Welfare. The email was sent a few hours after the Complainant left the yard.

I have considered the statements from both the Complainant and the Respondent. I find that that the Complainant was a more credible witness than the Respondent and therefore conclude that the complaint as presented under section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 is well founded.

I note that the Complainant was unemployed for a period of two months.

I now order the Respondent to pay the Complainant a gross sum of 10 weeks pay that I calculate to be €8,519.30.

This sum should be made to the Complainant within 42 days from the date of this decision.

I now order the Respondent to pay the Complainant a gross sum of 10 weeks’ pay that I calculate to be €8,519.30.

This sum should be made to the Complainant within 42 days from the date of this decision.

Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977.