£24k for worker unfairly sacked over Covid rules
Judge’s landmark ruling backs driver who turned up for work after taking son for virus test
A FATHER who went to work after taking his son for a Covid test was wrongly sacked after supposedly breaking coronavirus rules.
David Lewis believed his son Jayden, 17, was ‘at it’ and reluctantly took him to a local test centre before going to his job at a distillery warehouse.
Days later when he chased up the results, the forklift driver for BenRiach Distillery was advised to self-isolate and told his employers what had happened.
The 58-year-old was shocked to find himself facing disciplinary proceedings and devastated when he was sacked for gross misconduct for ‘breaching’ Covid guidelines and health and safety.
Furious after 23 years of service with an unblemished record, Mr Lewis took the company to court over his unfair sacking.
In a landmark ruling published on Friday, a judge agreed that he had been wrongly sacked and awarded him £23,978 compensation.
Speaking at his home in West Lothian last night, Mr Lewis said: ‘I feel vindicated now, the truth came out. I didn’t do anything wrong.
‘At the time I was angry at my son for getting a test without having any symptoms but he is a kid and at the end of the day he did have it so I can’t blame him.’
In February, Jayden said he had a headache but otherwise had no Covid symptoms.
In accordance with government guidelines at the time, a person had to self-isolate if a member of their household displayed any symptoms of Covid, defined as ‘a new, continuous cough; fever or loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste’.
From the outset, Mr Lewis maintained his son had no symptoms, so he did not need to isolate.
Mr Lewis said: ‘He works on a Saturday and that was the time he was wanting to go for a test. I said “You’re at it, there’s nothing wrong with you”, but he phoned the test centre and booked one and then told me.’
Mr Lewis took his son home and then went to his work at the firm’s warehouse in Newbridge, near Edinburgh, for his shift. Two days later, he called on behalf of his son and was told at that stage he was to isolate and the results could take up to six days.
He then explained the situation to his work and remained at home. The following day, the teenager found out that he did indeed have the virus. Mr Lewis was then suspended from work and later sacked on February 25. He added: ‘I am still on anxiety medication because of this. It was so disheartening. I felt like they were out to get me as a long-standing member of staff.’
Employment judge Jim Young said: ‘I did not consider there was a deliberate act to attend work when he knew his son was displaying symptoms of Covid and that he should have self-isolated.’
Mr Lewis’s solicitor, Margaret Gribbon, said: ‘This is a significant ruling which deals with the interplay between Covid guidelines and employment rights. My client was a long-serving and loyal employee who was sacked because the distillery misunderstood the government’s Covid guidelines.’