07 Aug NCT Tester Fairly Dismissed For Testing His Own Car

In Case No UD69/2014 a NCT vehicle inspector was found to have been fairly dismissed as he had breached the Company Code of Conduct three times, which did not allow employees to test any vehicle owned or previously owned by them.

The Company carried out a full investigation process after the quality department had identified potential issues with the employee testing vehicles that he was the registered owner off.  The employee admitted he was the owner and offered no explanation for his behavior.  A disciplinary hearing led to his dismissal on the basis that the breach of the Company’s rules in respect of testing own vehicles was a fundamental breach of the trust required in the employment relationship. An appeal hearing upheld the decision and determined that the sanction was not disproportionate.

Whilst this may seem that it was a straightforward dismissal situation, what helped the employer defend the unfair dismissal claim was that they had clearly communicated in writing the relevant procedures that applied in respect of required behaviour and they then dealt with the alleged breaches correctly with comprehensive investigation, disciplinary and appeal stages.