Negligence and failure to report vehicle damage
A former employee of a national automotive parts distributor challenged his dismissal at the bargaining council after being dismissed for negligence, failing to report damage to company property, and misrepresenting the facts surrounding the incident.
The matter arose after the employee, while operating a forklift during a loading operation, damaged the tailgate of a company vehicle. Video footage showed the employee immediately inspecting the exact area of impact, which strongly suggested that he was aware of the damage at the time. Despite the employer having a clear policy requiring all incidents involving company property to be reported, the employee failed to disclose the damage and later claimed that the mark was an old scratch.
I acted on behalf of the employer and demonstrated that the employee not only knew of the damage but deliberately failed to report it, despite being fully aware of the reporting procedure and having previously followed it in earlier incidents. We further established that the misconduct was aggravated by the employee's disciplinary history, which included prior warnings for similar negligence-related offences.
The arbitrator accepted that progressive discipline had already been applied, found that the employee showed no remorse or appreciation for the seriousness of the misconduct, and held that the trust relationship had irretrievably broken down. The dismissal was accordingly found to be both procedurally and substantively fair, with the employee's claim dismissed in full.
Why we succeeded
- Video evidence supported the inference — Footage of the employee inspecting the exact point of impact showed he was aware of the damage at the time.
- The explanation was improbable — His claim that the mark was an old scratch did not survive scrutiny against his conduct immediately after the incident.
- A reporting procedure was knowingly ignored — He had followed the incident-reporting policy before, so the failure to report was deliberate, not an oversight.
- Progressive discipline had run its course — A prior record for similar negligence meant dismissal was consistent with the employer's progressive-discipline approach.
- Trust had broken down — The combination of dishonesty and negligence justified dismissal as a fair and reasonable sanction.