Mr Robert McMinn v A & F Haulage Ltd — 2024

Mr Robert McMinn, an LGV driver employed by A&F Haulage Limited from 1 June 2009, was dismissed by letter dated 21 January 2020 after an incident on 6 November 2019 in which he ejected his tachograph card while returning to the depot. The tribunal accepted that he was under significant personal stress that day, but found that the card was removed about 3.5 km from the depot when he had already driven for 4 hours and 28 minutes, two minutes short of the required break. It did not accept, on the balance of probabilities, that he told the relevant managers about the incident immediately on return to the depot.

On the unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal found the principal reason for dismissal was conduct. It accepted that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant had committed misconduct, and that a reasonable employer could conclude from the distance remaining, the failure to re-insert the card, and the investigation material that the card had been removed to avoid the statutory break. The tribunal criticised aspects of the disciplinary process, including the use of the same managers in investigation and hearing roles, poor note-taking, and the handling of witness evidence, but concluded that the appeal process conducted by Nitu Patel addressed the main deficiencies and rendered the overall procedure fair.

On the wrongful dismissal claim, the tribunal held that the respondent had proved gross misconduct and that the claimant's conduct amounted to repudiation of the contract. It distinguished the standard for wrongful dismissal from the reasonable-belief test for unfair dismissal, and found that the claimant's actions justified dismissal without notice. No monetary award was made.