Worker who fell asleep in JCB shovel loses appeal over sacking

A WORKER was sacked by a manufacturing company after his line manager found him taking a nap in the loading shovel of a JCB, the Workplace Relations Commission has heard.

It was one of two complaints that resulted in a finding of gross misconduct against the worker, which ultimately led to him being fired by his employer last year.

The other complaint related to an incident in which the man had been observed using a metal bar to ‘poke’ inside a machine without isolating it from its electrical source.

He subsequently took a case against his former employer for unfair dismissal, which was the subject of an adjudication hearing by the WRC. The worker, who was employed as a general operative by the company, contested the decision to dismiss him on the basis that there had been a lack of fair procedure and natural justice during the disciplinary process.

The WRC heard evidence that the company’s assistant production manager had observed the worker ‘poking’ at a machine on August 12, 2016, without isolating it from its energy source.

He had stuck a metal bar inside the machine where there was a motor. Three days later, a manager claimed to have found the worker asleep in the loading shovel of a JCB.

A decision was made to suspend the worker on full pay pending investigation on August 24, 2016. He was subsequently dismissed.

WRC Adjudication Officer Marguerite Buckley noted that, while the process undertaken was not without fault, overall it was comprehensive and fair.

Accordingly, she found that the worker’s claim of unfair dismissal had failed.