In this case a tanker driver who accidentally spilled fuel on a garage forecourt was awarded £23,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal and was reinstated.

The claimant was employed by the respondent company as a tanker driver, delivering fuel to petrol and filling stations across the UK. He brought claims for unfair dismissal, automatic unfair dismissal, the unauthorised deduction from wages and breach of contract. The respondent accepted the claimant’s complaint in respect of holiday pay and in respect of an underpayment of the claimant’s pension contributions.

On 8 December 2015 an incident occurred which led to the claimant’s dismissal. The claimant arrived at the Tesco Chichester store on a dark and windy night. He began his usual checks, which included reviewing the ullage reports on the delivery sheet. He then began to deliver the fuel when an alarm sounded. He investigated the alarm but no warning lights appeared on the Driver Controlled Delivery (DCD) box. He subsequently discovered an airlock in the delivery hose. The claimant fixed this blockage and the flow started again. The alarm sounded once again, this time a few minutes later. The claimant returned to the DCD box but again there was no warning indicator to suggest anything was wrong. The claimant shut off the alarm and went to check his paperwork.
 
At that point the claimant noticed that he had misread the ullage. He pressed the emergency stop button. A member of Tesco staff informed him that there was fuel on the forecourt. The claimant instructed him to call the Fire Brigade to arrange for their attendance. This was standard procedure where there was a spillage of fuel. He also reported the matter to his employer. The Fire Brigade arrived, inspected the scene and ensured that the clean-up had been satisfactorily dealt with. The claimant did not breach any standard operational procedures and there was no complaint by Tesco staff or management in respect of the incident.

The claimant was suspended as a “precautionary measure… whilst a full investigation” was carried out. He attended a disciplinary hearing where it was alleged his actions had brought the company into “disrepute” and was dismissed with notice. He brought an appeal against the decision yet this was unsuccessful.

The tribunal held Mr Nolan had been unfairly dismissed, ordered his reinstatement as per his request, and awarded him £22,805.18 in loss of earnings, loss of pensions and expenses while looking for alternative employment. Although the tribunal regarded Nolan’s conduct as “culpable or blameworthy in not reading the college correctly and not noting the clear warning on the ullage printout… the claimant had made a mistake, and this was human error.  There was no wilfulness about the claimant’s error.”

The tribunal concluded the claimant’s dismissal was outside the range of reasonable responses. A deduction of 15% in respect of contributory conduct was made and an uplift of 5% in respect of the respondent’s failures to follow the ACAS Code of Practice.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b92513840f0b65560e9b71e/Mr_D_Nolan_v_XPO_Bulk_UK_Ltd_32002502016_Full.pdf