‘Squash playing’ Tube driver wins unfair dismissal claim

The
London Underground train driver who was sacked for playing squash while off on
sick leave with an ankle injury was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal
has ruled.

Chris
Barrett, was allegedly seen playing the game "vigorously" by London
Underground’s (LUL) revenue protection team, but the RMT union argued that did
he not receive a fair hearing and that LUL failed to observe its own
procedures.

At
a press conference, Barrett slammed a "vicious and wildly inaccurate media
campaign" that he said had been launched after details of his personnel
record were leaked to the media.

RMT
general secretary Bob Crow said: "Even if Chris’s sickness record did have
a direct bearing on the allegation leading to his dismissal – which it did not
– there would still be no excuse for the leaking of confidential personnel
records.

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"We
need to know who authorised that leak, what action London Underground now
intends to take against those responsible, and to ensure that it does not
happen again," he said. "There are clear issues of data protection
and human rights here."

By Michael Millar