Dismissed for red light pull off

Hi, im new to this site and wondered if anyone had encountered this situation before. I have been working for a North East company for 5 years now and have had no verbal or written warnings in the past, then one day while I was shunting trailers in NMUK nissan, I backed onto the bay as normal and handed my keys to the FLT driver and then I waited 2 bays away and was talking to another shunter who was being tipped inside the hanger. After 15 mins the FLT driver whistled and waved over at me that he was finished so went over looked in the back of the trailer to see it was empty,(this was a tip only no backload), I then proceeded outside obviously assuming the FLT driver would have closed the door(the dock leveler was also off), I then noticed another shunt driver was waiting to back on and was in a hurry, he came over was chatting to me then offered to close the back doors (old shunter helping shunter routine), at that I pulled forward a few feet and then noticed the door was still up, I then got a mouthfull off the supervisor working in the hangar. He then reported me to my superior who promptly suspended me awaiting a disciplinary at which they said it was gross misconduct and fired me, is this a bit harsh considering the FLT driver gave me back my keys and said he was finished, yes I should have noticed the red light but I was distracted by another driver, a split second mistake which I have never made before or likey to make again. I feel robbed, does anyone have any advice?

This incident would never have occurred if the proper procedures had been followed, meaning flt should have retracted the dock leveler, shut the door before whistling you over and handing back the keys. He must have broke the procedure too, What happened to him?

Seems both you guys are guilty of breaking the procedures, If you got dismissed so should he, If he just got a slap on the wrist, so should you

Good luck with it mate, keep us posted

Surely someone else has pulled off on a red light… If they have and they weren’t sacked too how can they sack you, everyone has to be treated the same.

Does seem a bit harsh considering its your first offence, and, nobody was hurt/no damage occurred.

Couple of drivers at our place have been dismissed for the same reason (don’t know if they had any “previous”)

Definate failure of procedures, although pulling off a bay with a red light is bad it should be virtually impossible to do these days.
Two elements of human error and your surpervisor isn’t totally in the clear either as his job title suggests.

I would get some advice on this from CAB or with a bit of googling look for ukbusiness forums they have an employent section for both employees and employers.

5 years gives you the full protection of the employment act and no prior incidents.

This could also point to a general lapse in the strictness of how these procedures are followed and the company would do well to use this incident to tighten things up, starting with an investigation into whether corners are being cut regarding elf and save tea.

Edited as I just noticed you have already been dismissed for this incident.

Possible grounds for unfair dissmisal but I presume your contract / staff handbook has pulling off from a red light listed as gross misconduct.

G6Bob:
This incident would never have occurred if the proper procedures had been followed, meaning flt should have retracted the dock leveler, shut the door before whistling you over and handing back the keys. He must have broke the procedure too, What happened to him?

Seems both you guys are guilty of breaking the procedures, If you got dismissed so should he, If he just got a slap on the wrist, so should you

Good luck with it mate, keep us posted

Agree with all this and the bit highlighted is the relevant bit you need to have in your arsenal if you decide to go down the unfair dismissal route imho.

I don’t think there’s much come back from this I’m afraid. At the end of the day you pulled off while the bay was on a red regardless of what was said and done inside. I would however appeal the decision if you can but I’m sure they’ll have notices on the walls/doors reminding drivers/warehouse staff of this. If they have nothing of the sort then you may have a case to fight your corner.

Harsh but golden rule is look for a green.

Oh and make sure to use the green on the right or is it left, always confuses me this…

When you realised your mistake you didn’t then reverse back on in a panic did you?

Someone at a place I used to work got dismissed on the spot for doing this, so if a forkie or whoever had fallen off they would have probably got crushed as well.

What’s wrong with this picture?..

Moving about in a fashion where a mistake results in serious damage/injury and/or death, one should NEVER make the mistake of “Being in a hurry” - either yourself, or on behalf of someone else.

I was once “hurried” by a manager, and when I objected, I got the race card played at me in an “insubordination” charge at a remote yard.
My own yard “sent me somewhere else for a few weeks” whilst the fuss died down, and of course because it’s not appropriate to carry on working there when charges have been laid against you. By the time I finally went back to that yard, the manager had been sacked, apparently for something “unrelated” to my incident. Hmm…

My “offence” was to open up the back, and find out that a load had not been strapped, and refusing to pull my combination off the bay for someone else “in a hurry” to get on. I asked if the whole lot could be taken off, reloaded, and strapped. That particular yard has a policy of “no drivers anywhere near the truck whilst it’s being loaded”. Free standing trailers were not allowed, so the full combination is parked on a bay with the keys handed in.
I reckon the whole incident is down to a combination of “clashing local SSOW procedures” combined with “attempting to cut corners for local worker favours”.

If someone orders me to “hurry up” that nearly always involves performing some unsafe acts/cutting corners, then with me it ain’t gonna happen. Tough!
I don’t behave this way because I’m worried about being sacked - I do it to preserve life and jobs. If high command are aware that people are knocking off hours early, and jobs are getting carved up, then guess what? - Anyone on contract is going to be the first to be got rid of. Trouble is, that is rarely the person on “job and knock” nearly always a local full timer. No quarter expected or given with me. I’m not there to make time for the local workforce. Sod 'em! :imp:

I used to do agency work at a place that told you no matter what, if you pull off on a red or drop a trailer then you will be banned from site !!

i heard a story that a guy who has been there over 20 years dropped a trailer and the inquest was still ongoing and it looked like he was going to lose his job and all entitlement to redundancy etc… but i dont know how he got on ?

topcat69:
I then proceeded outside obviously assuming the FLT driver would have closed the door

That was your first mistake. Do you assume the last driver of your truck has done his daily check? Do you assume there is enough space on your blind side? Do you assume there won’t be a mobile speed camera on that SC while you blast along at 50?

topcat69:
at that I pulled forward a few feet and then noticed the door was still up,

That was your second mistake, not spotting the red light.

topcat69:
He then reported me to my superior who promptly suspended me awaiting a disciplinary at which they said it was gross misconduct and fired me

I agree with the outcome, it is gross misconduct pulling off a bay with a red light on, the door open and the leveler still on the bed of your trailer.

topcat69:
yes I should have noticed the red light ?

Correct, this is the first time after a lot of waffle that you finally own up to your mistake.

topcat69:
but I was distracted by another driver,

Excuses, excuses, excuses

topcat69:
a split second mistake which I have never made before or likey to make again?

Irrelevant, you made the mistake now, that is what the dismissal is based on.

topcat69:
does anyone have any advice?

Go write your CV and find another job, just hope that the new gaffer does not talk to the old one…

We all know the rules, and whether given the keys and paperwork back, and the ok to go, if the light is RED you have to go back to the office and tell them the light is still on RED, and although it was gross misconduct, and you had been with the company a number of years without incident, thats why you were punished so hard, maybe if you knew the conversation between Nissan and your boss it would help, as maybe Nissan had a big part to play in your dismissal, something along the lines of You will lose the contract, or I dont want your drivers on this property again, just move on, and put it down to experience.

Nobody was hurt and no damage caused, the company should learn from this and improve their swp around operating dock doors. Driver and forklift driver should both be given written warnings.

The fact the lip was up and keys given I don’t think it warrants a sackable offence anyway. Pulling off on a red light is school boy stuff, but I accept it’s how things are done at certain places especially at tesco shops for example.

Go to CAB and see what they have to say.
It might be worth writing to the head of HR and put your side of the incident to them.
Also you could mention you feel you have been mistreated & that the company in your view has been very harsh.
If no joy then consider legal action for unfair dismissal, this might, just might help?

Always check the dock light no green no move simple as. If someone says quick we want the bay then its tough ■■■■■.

Your lucky it wasn’t a "pulled off on a red and killed a forkie " post red and green lights are there for a reason.

All very harsh imo. Blame culture at work here I think. Are we all not fallible at some point?

For some reason it seams that if someone can be blamed and severely dealt with, then it will never happen again.

What a sad world we live in.

fredthered:
All very harsh imo. Blame culture at work here I think. Are we all not fallible at some point?

How fallible do you allow a professional driver to be? He can run over a cyclist as long as he doesn’t kill him? He can pull off on red as long as he doesn’t kill the forkie? He can swipe a car with his trailer swing and hurt a child in the passenger seat as long as he doesn’t kill her?

Rules are rules, boundaries are set for a reason, we are professionals, you just don’t pull off on red, end of.

There are no excuses, no grey areas.

fredthered:
For some reason it seams that if someone can be blamed and severely dealt with, then it will never happen again.

No, you just weed out those that are not cut out for this job.

Seemples! the work with NMUK Nissan is more important than you,Goodbye.