Tribunal told stress made sacked man feel ‘mental’

A SACKED worker has told a tribunal he was “going mental” with grief and was unable to perform his job properly before his dismissal by the company.

Stan Reid was a production worker at Michelin Tyre Factory when Ralph Smith, his best friend’s son, fell to his death from Arbroath cliffs last year.

During a vigil for the teen, Mr Reid’s friends Julie McCash and David Sorrie were killed by Robert Stratton.

Mr Reid, who helped coordinate a search for Ralph, told bosses he would be off for seven days due to the stress caused by the events.

But he was sacked for gross misconduct after Facebook posts tagging him at a gin festival in Glasgow were sent to personnel staff.

Giving evidence, Mr Reid said he felt “helpless” and he still hadn’t come to terms with the deaths of Ralph, Julie and David.

Mr Reid said he tried to keep working but found himself incapable of carrying out his duties.

He said: “I was completely stressed out — I couldn’t sleep, I was devastated from what had happened. I was going mental because all of this was going on in the background.”

The tribunal also heard evidence from Fraser Duff, head of planning at Michelin, who handled the appeal process.

Mr Duff admitted that he had “ignored” a letter written from Ralph Smith Sr appealing for Mr Reid not to be sacked.

Ralph Smith Sr’s letter said that Mr Reid had held him together on the “worst day of his life” and that the Glasgow trip had come about because “he needed time away from it all”.

The letter ended with: “My son’s body has now been found and Stan will be a pallbearer at the funeral, if you think he was using this as an excuse to be off work then there is something wrong with the Michelin system.”

Mr Duff said his decision was based on whether or not he believed Mr Reid was capable of working on the day in question, and that, in his opinion, it was “an attempt to defraud” the company’s sick pay scheme.

Mr Reid’s solicitor Ryan Russell, of Muir Myles and Laverty, put to Mr Duff that the approach was “heartless to a set of very tragic circumstances”. Mr Duff said that he did the job “he was paid to do”.

The tribunal, in front of judge Peter Wallington QC, continues.