I know the feeling mate, I was sacked for a very silly issue myself.
I think all companies are loving the fact that there’s more drivers than jobs, they can just get rid of people on a whim, we might as well all be agency drivers now to be honest.
I don’t want to be back on agency, and I’m looking for a full time job, but I’m also very sceptical that it’ll make any difference at all to job security and might just stay on the agency for a while.
lukeandlei:
Not naming as I’ve still got to appeal my case and I didn’t deny it because I’m an honest person and too stupid for my own good at times.
Go see a solicitor who specialises in employment law. You will usually get the first 30 minutes free. Listen carefully and then follow their advice.
There is a fair chance that, even if you are ‘in the wrong’, your employer did not follow the correct procedures. Big companies are just as prone to falling into this trap as small ones are.
You may be looking at compensation, reinstatement or both,
(besides which, somebody will probably get their arse kicked).
Good luck, anyway.
Alan
This sounds like a load of crap… Apologies to OP…
If the situation is as reported the answer is obvious. They wanted rid of you, they found a reason, they got rid.
Thankyou.
There’s only one proper solution to this problem:
Do a stinky ■■■■■ in a Jiffy bag and post it to them. That’ll teach 'em.
cieranc:
There’s only one proper solution to this problem:Do a stinky [zb] in a Jiffy bag and post it to them. That’ll teach 'em.
Teach em what? Not to sack Drivers, Open Jiffy Bags or listen to you?!!lol.
The mp3 player was buzzing through the stereo and was annoying me and the lead that is around 3 meters long which plugs into the back of the stereo in the dash board which I did not fit! I am not a liar else I would have just said I wasn’t using anything!!!
The mp3 player just plays mp3 not radio, did I mention that the stereo doesn’t work ie no radio signal and cd player won’t play cds?
Hi wildfire, in the handbook it states that if you are caught then you could face points and a fine that is it.
lukeandlei:
The mp3 player was buzzing through the stereo and was annoying me and the lead that is around 3 meters long which plugs into the back of the stereo in the dash board which I did not fit! I am not a liar else I would have just said I wasn’t using anything!!!
The mp3 player just plays mp3 not radio, did I mention that the stereo doesn’t work ie no radio signal and cd player won’t play cds?
Just checked, nope, you didn’t mention that? Do the Company know this? Who took the Stereo out and connected the Line In? Why the ■■■■■ would it have a TEN foot line in cable?
What vehicle was you driving? How did the Manager look up and see what you was doing?
dinosteveus1:
lukeandlei:
The mp3 player was buzzing through the stereo and was annoying me and the lead that is around 3 meters long which plugs into the back of the stereo in the dash board which I did not fit! I am not a liar else I would have just said I wasn’t using anything!!!
The mp3 player just plays mp3 not radio, did I mention that the stereo doesn’t work ie no radio signal and cd player won’t play cds?Just checked, nope, you didn’t mention that? Do the Company know this? Who took the Stereo out and connected the Line In? Why the ■■■■■ would it have a TEN foot line in cable?
What vehicle was you driving? How did the Manager look up and see what you was doing?
you can buy extension cables of ebay. 
jessicas dad:
you can buy extension cables of ebay.
Can you?!!
Why would you want a 10 foot extension lead in a small cab? You could lay on the bunk and operate a MP3 player with a 5 foot lead? Couldn’t you?
The chances of such a long lead getting in the way and affecting your driving must be high.
Must be me, soz I’m just a bit cynical and say it as I see it? If you don’t ask you don’t know.
something dosn’t seem right.
was the management bloke in another truck as a passenger?
if he was in a car, and all you did was move the MP3, then how did he see it? unless you happened to scratch your right ear with the MP3?
personally, i would have denied everything, and convinced them that the management guy was a danger to other road users, as he was trying to look into other vehicles, instead of concentrating on the road.
dinosteveus1:
jessicas dad:
you can buy extension cables of ebay.Can you?!!
Why would you want a 10 foot extension lead in a small cab? You could lay on the bunk and operate a MP3 player with a 5 foot lead? Couldn’t you?
The chances of such a long lead getting in the way and affecting your driving must be high.Must be me, soz I’m just a bit cynical and say it as I see it? If you don’t ask you don’t know.
Such a long lead was probably the cause of the buzzing
waynedl:
Such a long lead was probably the cause of the buzzing
An MP3 player doesn’t have any moving parts, I’d say you could be right or it was some electrical interference that caused the ‘buzzing’.
Either way, messing about with it whilst driving isn’t the thing to do. That lead could easily have caused interference with his driving.
Its probably not a fatory fit cable as everyone uses the vehicles and it could have been put in by someone else. The vehicle was a man wag and drag as such the stereo is in the lower dash near to your knee. The manager reckons he “clearly” saw me in the reflection in my mirror as he approached me and he says he saw me holding it after he passed me in his rear view mirror.
Sounds like I was paying more attention to the road than he was but management don’t care about that.
lukeandlei:
Its probably not a fatory fit cable as everyone uses the vehicles and it could have been put in by someone else. The vehicle was a man wag and drag as such the stereo is in the lower dash near to your knee. The manager reckons he “clearly” saw me in the reflection in my mirror as he approached me and he says he saw me holding it after he passed me in his rear view mirror.
Sounds like I was paying more attention to the road than he was but management don’t care about that.
Bollox, no chance in hell. I’ll bet a fiver to Charity (CF Trust) that he cannot see clearly enough, up in a Cab behind him from a rear view mirror.
Anyway, why move this MP3 player across yourself to bang it on the Door? Stereo on your Left, Door on your right? TEN foot of cable where?
lukeandlei:
Hi all!
I would just like to bring a matter to the attention of all drivers:-I was seen by a member of management for a big multi national company that I worked for holding an mp3 player while on the M1, I was not using the player I was moving it and knocking it against the door as it was buzzing and interfering with my driving.
I was told that I was suspended because the manager thought I was using a mobile phone. After going into a investigation and convincing them that it wasn’t a mobile phone it was my mp3 player I was told by my manager that he was unsure what company policy was on mp3 players.
I then went into a disciplinary hearing I told them again that I was moving it because it was buzzing! I was told that this was against company policy and the law and was dismissed from the company with immediate effect! (09/01/12)
Now I feel that after 7 years at a company without even a smudge on my record this action was very extreme.
So I’d just like to warn all the drivers out there that if you work for this huge multi nation company then beware as they will sack you without blinking an eyelid!
You need to take them to tribunal even now for failure to follow proper disciplinary procedure. Unless it was specified in your contract or a company policy handbook as being gross misconduct then they cannot dismiss you with immediate effect and have to go through the three stages. Obviously it wasn’t actually against company policy because if it was, the manager would have been sure of what the policy was in respect to MP3 players. Also it is not against the law to move a MP3 player - thats just ■■■■■■■■. Did they give you the chance to have a representative with you? Were you presented with “the evidence”?
Find yourself a good employment lawyer. You could have a field day with this.
dinosteveus1:
Bollox, no chance in hell. I’ll bet a fiver to Charity (CF Trust) that he cannot see clearly enough, up in a Cab behind him from a rear view mirror.
This. If you can see into a cab from a car, why have the Police spent money on tractor units so they can see into the cabs of lorries to see if drivers are using the phone/dvd players etc?
lukeandlei:
Not naming as I’ve still got to appeal my case and I didn’t deny it because I’m an honest person and too stupid for my own good at times.
same said company recently sacked a pal of mine after one of the management alledged to have seen him with a cigarette in his mouth whilst driving on m1,like yourself he admitted to it and told them it wasnt even lit, seems very ironic to me because if the management of this said company spent more time on concentrating on buisness they might not find themselves making such huge losses, as an owner operator with 4 44t trucks i sub work for a number of companies but would not work for these clowns no matter how hard times are,hey are one of the main reasons road haulage in the uk is in the mess it is in
Conor:
dinosteveus1:
Bollox, no chance in hell. I’ll bet a fiver to Charity (CF Trust) that he cannot see clearly enough, up in a Cab behind him from a rear view mirror.This. If you can see into a cab from a car, why have the Police spent money on tractor units so they can see into the cabs of lorries to see if drivers are using the phone/dvd players etc?
I’ve often been able to see drivers on their phones etc from in my car, posted about it on here not long ago to try and understand why they’re using a unit.