Obeying the speed limit & being disabled..sackable offence?

[andrew_leitch]

Got a complicated one here, so please stay with me.

Just started a new job night-trunking on Monday & I am registered disabled due to an industrial accident in 2006 but I can still drive/hook up trailers/trunk.

At all times I was open, upfront and honest about my disability and I mentioned it on my application form/in the interview/filled in the medical questionnnaire and equal opportunities part of my contract.

The night trunk is roughly 690km and driving a truck limited to 53mph and obeying the speed limit…it’s impossible to achieve it in 9…it’s a 10 hour drive.
There are 7 other drivers on this trunk and they all manage to do the job in 9 and can manage 5 trunks-a-week whereas I can only manage 2.
I have found out that the other drivers hook-up the trailer/do their daily checks/drive to the gatehouse and then insert their digi-card…therefore saving 7 or 8 minutes driving. This 7 or 8 minutes plus speeding on A-roads, means they can make the trunk, whereas I insert my digi-card/hook-up/do my daily checks/drive to the gatehouse, which then takes 7 or 8 minutes driving. If the office checked the tacho’s, they would find only I am showing ‘Other work’ at the start of my shift…the other drivers are not showing any…just insert card and straight to driving.

I did a 10 hour drive twice and on the third night informed the office staff of only having a 9 available. Was told to ‘do your best’.

Later that night, I was called by the Operations Manager and was told to go to a MSA for a changeover. Was told this was a one-off as it was an additional cost to the company, which was unacceptable. And as I would be in the same position the following night (only having 9 available and unable to make the trunk), I have been suspended from work tonight and told to come in on Tuesday for a meeting.

As I am only able to legally do 2 trunks a week, there is another shift available to cover the other 3 nights but it is physically demanding, (trunking then handballing a double decker) and it’s unlikely I would be able to complete this due to my disability.

The Op Manager mentioned I was the only one unable to do the job and I got the impression ‘why was I causing hassle?’.
Am I likely to be sacked on Tuesday, as I refuse to drive illegally and am unable to complete the other shift due to my disability?

Another complication is, I was originally told my shift pattern would be Tues-Sat. I accepted this but later two junior office staff asked me if Mon-Fri was more suitable.
I said yes and accepted this change of shift pattern verbally. The Op Manager said he never authorised this and he is wanting to put me back onto Tues-Sat…which I do not want but would accept if it meant keeping my job.

This whole problem would go away…if the company give me a vehicle that wasn’t screwed down to 53mph and upped the limiter to 56mph…I then would be able to complete the trunk 5 nights-a-week. :^|

Thanks for any help/advice.

[wheel_nut]

Not complicated at all, a company who sacks a disabled person is on a sticky wicket anyway, especially a company who is asking you to run bent as well.

When you clock on or start work, you as a driver should be either making manual entries or drawing lines on the back of the chart to show what you are doing. It seems like you are, and the other drivers are not.

The planning office and the TM in particular have signed a declaration to say they will run legal.

You accepted the Tue - Sat shift, so that is what you can be asked to do. most contracts allow for the company to change place of work or shift times to aid flexibility.

I think if you are certain you are working correctly and not taking 3 x 60 minute comfort breaks to screw your wooden leg back on I would go to this meeting and listen very carefully, maybe take someone in with you to record what is said.

A tribunal and VOSA would love you forever

[starfighter]

You should definitely go to the meeting, if you have union representation then take a union man in with you, if not anyone else as a witness and take notes, ask for the minutes of the meeting afterwards. We have recently had a crackdown on this practice of inserting cards at the gatehouse after tacho analaysis showed drivers not showing other work prior to leaving the yard and not making the manual entries to close down the precvious shift and start the current one. It may be an idea to take printouts/charts to the meeting to show them that you have not been taking the mickey.

[mike-c]

Based on what you’ve said, you’ve been suspended based on a performance review? In general the least you say the better, in these circumstances you should have someone go in with you and minute it, and you could always mention that you are aware that others are achieving it and you would welcome a timetable and schedule comparison for you to work to and request some training to enable you to achieve what the others are doing. Thus leaving it squareley on their shoulders to give you a workable, legal schedule to complete. I’d follow any meeting up with a letter to confirm it too.

[biscuits]

One thing I’d say is that don’t at any point say you could do it with a 56mph limiter instead of a 53. If 550 km of your route is m-way then it would only make about 20 mins difference. If they were to find a different unit with the higher limiter, and then still couldn’t make it, you’d be a bit stuffed.

[rob_k]

Guys guys, you should read his other posts before offering serious advice here. You are wasting your breath.