Sacked JLR worker sent in bailiffs to get £250k payout
Employee of 43 years ‘unfairly dismissed’ after heart surgery
I loved JLR and felt it was like my second family, but I was sacked for no reason
AFORMER Jaguar Land Rover worker has told how he called in bailiffs to force the company to pay him £250,000 awarded in compensation for unfair dismissal.
Long-serving Brian Fox had worked for the car manufacturer since the age of 16 at the Lode Lane factory in Solihull.
But he was dismissed at the age of 59 in March 2019 after twice undergoing heart surgery and having a request to no longer work night shifts on medical grounds turned down.
He took JLR to an employment tribunal and eventually won a huge £250,000 payout in March, based mainly on loss of future earnings and pension contributions.
Yet JLR failed to pay the money immediately because the company was appealing the level of the award. Mr Fox, through his solicitor, took enforcement action via a recovery company which visited JLR’s Coventry site.
Mr Fox, now aged 62, said: “I loved JLR and felt it was like my second family, but I was sacked for no reason.
“I had a doctor’s letter to say I was fit for work with no restrictions.
“But I was told to get off the site immediately following dismissal and was made to feel like I was not wanted any more.”
A JLR spokesman said: “Given that this case is currently subject to an appeal to the employment appeal tribunal, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”
Mr Fox began working for JLR at the age of 16 in 1976, working on special vehicles in the paint shop – including mixing paint for the Queen’s Land Rover as well as for vehicles for the British Army.
He also worked in other departments at the factory but then needed the life-saving heart operations in 2012 and 2014.
After two heart surgery operations he was off work for about 16 months and then requested to work days instead of nights upon his return to help with his recovery, but says no suitable role was offered.
Brian Fox
He was also off work with stress and says he even agreed to change sections to work days.
The tribunal was told he had been offered early retirement on medical grounds by JLR, but he turned that offer down.
Mr Fox said: “I had an operation on a heart valve in December 2012. I then needed a second operation on another valve which I had in December 2014. I was told that if both operations went well, which they did, that I should be fine but I will need medication for the rest of my life.
“After the surgery I was very poorly for weeks. It takes a long time to get back to your old self, physically and mentally.
“But I just wanted to get back to work and I worked hard in the gym and went swimming.
“I just wanted to feel normal again. Eventually, I had a doctor’s letter to say I was fully fit with no restrictions.”
But Mr Fox says he felt like he was treated differently when he returned.
“It upset me, I was made to feel like I was letting down JLR which I didn’t want to do. It was the same when I had my second operation,” he recalled.
“Occupational health was good to me but HR wanted me to work according to a doctor’s note that related to just after my surgery, rather than a newer note from my doctor that said I was fully fit to work.
“For the last 15 years I worked on supply parts quality where I was happy, but the company could not accommodate me staying on dayshift. At the end I was working in the metrology – measurement – department.
I asked to work days because I thought it would be better for my health, but the company just wanted me to retire on ill health grounds.
“I didn’t want that and was later sacked and told to leave the site immediately. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to my work friends, people I’d worked with for years.”
Mr Fox took the company to an employment tribunal in June 2019 and was represented by Slater and Gordon. He eventually won his case for unfair dismissal in September the following year, as well as for discrimination arising from disability, and indirect discrimination.
JLR was also found to have not made ‘reasonable adjustments’ but a claim of victimisation was dismissed as was a claim for direct disability discrimination.
The tribunal said: “We consider that the claimant, who had worked for the respondent since he was aged 16, would have continued to work for the respondent up until his retirement at age 65. There is no evidence to support that there was any likelihood of the claimant being dismissed before he reached retirement age.”
At a resumed hearing in March this year, Mr Fox was awarded £252,336, including £70,000 for loss of earnings and £69,000 for loss of future pension. The tribunal also awarded him £11,500 for ‘injury to feelings’.
Yet despite the award being finalised, Jaguar Land Rover allegedly failed to pay up.
As a result, Mr Fox was forced to employ bailiffs who visited the firm’s Coventry HQ to demand payments.
He said: “Even though I won in court, it did not give me satisfaction. I could’ve still been working there doing some job if the company just listened to me.”
Slater and Gordon senior associate Rubel Bashir said: “Mr Fox was an extremely hardworking employee and worked for JLR throughout his adult life.
“He took incredible pride in his work and considered JLR as an integral part of his life. He was extremely hurt and devastated by the manner of his dismissal and we are pleased to have achieved a substantial amount of compensation for him.
“JLR has appealed the extent of the compensation awarded but this has been rejected by the tribunal and we are confident they will not be successful.
“This judgment shows the importance of employers making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and exploring all options before dismissing.”