Hi,
I recently took my ex employer to employment tribunal because i was forced to leave, due to the company forcing drivers into driving illegally.
I proved that the company operate a bonus incentive for the amounts of collections done and that they inforce finacial penilties in the reagon of thousands of pounds for not doing what your told. Thus incouraging driver to driver illegally by removing digit tachos to ensure they don’t suffer finacial penelties.
I proved that the company do not check the Vehicle Unit reading, so they wouldn’t in theory know how many drivers if any could do their work loads within the legal limits.
I also proved that the companyies only method of calculating their work loads was based on comparision. eg, if one driver did 50 collection then that is what is expected of everyone, no considerations where made for the time it takes to do the jobs or the distance to be traveled.
I tried all sorts to get my workload reduced because i couldn’t do it within the legal limits, they even sent another driver with me who made up a lie that i was waiting for 3 minuets at every stop and that is why it was taking me to long.
Unfortunatly they they deducted 3 grand off my wages unlawfully and refused to give me my holidays. I ended up having to go through the greivance procedure to no avail and was forced to leave, because there is no way i could do my workload within the legal limits.
I took them to employment tribunal, who ruled it was in bad faith for me to inform the courts of the breached in regulations that my employer was doing, as i only did it because they took money off me.
They then ruled that i had no greivance because i was doing no more and no less than any other driver, the only differance being was that i was having to driver further. This was because i proved that i traveled the greatest distance, as my employer classed this as comuting to where the jobs where, i don’t know how you comute in a truck, but that is what the courts ruled.
so according to the tribunal, I would only have a greivance if i was doing more collections than any other driver regardless if any of it could be done within the legal limits.
VOSA did a proper check on the company and found a large proportion of drivers where driving illegally, but as none of the drivers will talk, then it looks like the drivers will get done, and the company will get away with this practice scot free. VOSA can not use my evidance as the tribunal ruled it was said in bad faith.
The whole point of the introduction of digi tachos and eu directive 561/2006 article 10 sections 1-5, was to stop this type of practice. How sad is it for the industry when a uk employment tribunal rule that this practice is acceptable and drivers still do not have a leg to stand on.
Ex trucker who would love to go back driving, but can’t if this is acceptable practice.
To add insult to injury the employment tribunal ruled that had i not left i would have been sacked anyway for keep going on about my workoad, apparently it soured the relationship to a point i could have been sacked. So there you have it, you can now be sacked for refusing to work illegally. Works realy well this eu ruling, NOT
