I know no one can give legal advice but I was just after a general consensus.
By way of what I guess is an excuse, my company has been putting a lot of pressure on this past few weeks because we’ve had a backlog of work (supermarket recycling stuff).
Last week I was approaching my first site of the day when I got a warning light “alternator not charging”, this happened about six months ago and it was just a dodgy alternator so I didn’t panic as I’d seen it before. Except this time it wasn’t a dodgy alternator: a pulley had completely sheered off and the fan belt wasn’t doing it’s job. While I was outside the cab using the crane the engine overheated. We got the pulley replaced within a few hours and I’ve been using it for the past few days, there’s no water in the oil so I reckon the head gasket must be fine.
I’ve now been “suspended pending an investigation”. I’m guessing if the engine is damaged I’ll be getting the push.
Can you be sacked for what is basically a bad judgement call when a fault appears?
My guess (as limited as my legal expertise is) would be yes, they would be within their rights to sack you for it and if its a big or blue chip company then its a very real possibility
You ignored a warning light and its damaged the engine causing thousands of pounds of damage.
Im not slating your decision btw as I might have made the same call with a repeat light but im guessing that despite the rush or backlog they still expected drivers to stop at the signs of any issues with the vehicles.
In short, id say you might be best looking around for something else then leaving before you get sacked but some of the more legal minded on here might suggest otherwise. Thats just my take on it
Tough one this , most everyplace I’ve worked at pretty much say ignore yellow lights but act on red ones. Not charging will not do any damage so my guess is if you had called it in you would have been told to carry on .
Thing is you can’t know about these things until they happen - that because the alternator wasn’t charging the belt had gone and the water pump wasn’t being driven either - although I’d have thought you ought to have heard the electric fan kick in vigorously which unfortunately would have no effect if the water pump was stationary. A lot of drivers probably could easily make the same mistake.
Being realistic if the engine has been wrecked it’s not going to be pleasant carrying on working there as a least favourite employee anyway. Personally, I’d give a good loyal long term driver the benefit of the doubt but probably everyone wouldn’t be as forgiving.
joe royal:
Tough one this , most everyplace I’ve worked at pretty much say ignore yellow lights but act on red ones. Not charging will not do any damage so my guess is if you had called it in you would have been told to carry on .
If you have been driving around with any warning lights on. And you have known about them but ignored them. The I’d say they have a right to suspend you.
How ever if warning lights have been on you have reported it and been told it’s fine crack on Then no.
Although proving it is a different matter is your word v theres
Juddian:
The lesson is to make a phone call and put the ball in their court.
^^^ That. As usual Mr J has it on the nail.
The decisions you are paid to make are related to driving and load safety. You aren’t paid to be a fitter. Always ring in and make it an office decision, then if they tell you to carry on and the engine dies, it’s not your fault.
At our place you’d just get a bollocking and I’d get over myself. I use the principle that someone new might make the same mistake, you never will
If they want rid, they will win, if they download a health report from the VCU it may say that the driver drove for 47m after warning lamp was illuminated.
They may just say, look that lumps beyond repair and it’s cost £7500, just don’t do it again followed by memos to every driver, manager, catering assistant and goods in staff.
Conor:
Thread should be entitled “Suspended after truck broke down when I ignored a red warning light on the dash.”
Most helpful input, Conor…
On subject the longer term lesson is to cover your behind at every turn. I call my work phone a tennis racket as I only ever use it to call with a problem and put the ball in their court for a decision. The fact I know the most likely outcome is irrelevant until they tell me.
Do you keep a diary? Do you have any defect sheets where the previous fault was recorded on? Did you tell anyone?
I guess the onky thing you can do really is hold your hands up, be apologetic and so on. It might keep you the job. But if you do keep it start looking for something anyway as you’ll be on a last leg kinda thing.
Juddian:
The lesson is to make a phone call and put the ball in their court.
^^^^^^
This every time.
Aka… ‘‘Arse covering excercise’’ and if things go ■■■■ up as in this case, you’ve passed on the responsibility to those who get paid for it.
Lesson learned by experience.
When I 1st started driving buses years ago, my instructor, a welsh fella called mike, who was brilliant, always said there is 1 word to remember doing this job;
ACE.
Arse
Covering
Exercise.
Sadly, the company are within thier rights to suspend you, but, what does your contract/training say?
rambo19:
When I 1st started driving buses years ago, my instructor, a welsh fella called mike, who was brilliant, always said there is 1 word to remember doing this job;
I think I speak for all now, when I say we can sleep a little more peacefully knowing your bus driving instructor was a welshman named mike. WTF
It’s not a “good” company, it’s a mickey mouse operation which is firmly in the sights of the Environment Agency (they visit EVERY week), there’s one usable truck (the truck in question) with a crane and one truck with a broken crane that just shuttles around between our site and the site next door, and which is frequently overloaded well beyond it’s GVM, the boss thinks this is perfectly acceptable as “you’re only going next door”, to him it’s all a big joke. eg one day he told me to bring the truck round from “next door”, it felt weird to drive so I put it onto the weighbridge - it was “out of range” !! And this on a 32 tonner, not only sanctioned by the boss but expected by him.
I don’t think there’ll be any data to be downloaded from the engine management system as the call out engineer hooked up his laptop and cleared out all the entries.
As for my contract, the last time I signed a contract with this company I was doing a non-driving job for a few months, so it’s just an “assumed contract” in the terms that I’ve been doing the job for years.
As for phone calling, this was about 5am when it started, so I wouldn’t have gotten an answer from anyone. At this firm me and my oppo tend to start about 3am, there’s no “security” guy, no bosses on site, no “clocking in” we just go out and just get on with the job based on the paperwork.
I won’t deny I can believe they’re within their rights to get rid of me, but we have a massive staff turnover and every time someone leaves it seems like this is when the EA get a call. Plus they would need to find a hiab driver willing to work bank holidays and weekends (4 on 4 off rota) for less than £10 per hour flat rate (there is no time and a half or double time, not even for Boxing Day).
My local driving agency advertises Class 2 jobs at £10-£17 per hour, my mate is kicking my arse to jump the gun and apply for some of these jobs right now.
Own Account Driver:
Being realistic if the engine has been wrecked it’s not going to be pleasant carrying on working there as a least favourite employee anyway.
One thing about my boss, he’s very “equality minded”, that is, in his eyes we’re all equally worthless And I’m not kidding
It’s not a “good” company, it’s a mickey mouse operation which is firmly in the sights of the Environment Agency (they visit EVERY week), there’s one usable truck (the truck in question) with a crane and one truck with a broken crane that just shuttles around between our site and the site next door, and which is frequently overloaded well beyond it’s GVM, the boss thinks this is perfectly acceptable as “you’re only going next door”, to him it’s all a big joke. eg one day he told me to bring the truck round from “next door”, it felt weird to drive so I put it onto the weighbridge - it was “out of range” !! And this on a 32 tonner, not only sanctioned by the boss but expected by him.
I don’t think there’ll be any data to be downloaded from the engine management system as the call out engineer hooked up his laptop and cleared out all the entries.
As for my contract, the last time I signed a contract with this company I was doing a non-driving job for a few months, so it’s just an “assumed contract” in the terms that I’ve been doing the job for years.
As for phone calling, this was about 5am when it started, so I wouldn’t have gotten an answer from anyone. At this firm me and my oppo tend to start about 3am, there’s no “security” guy, no bosses on site, no “clocking in” we just go out and just get on with the job based on the paperwork.
I won’t deny I can believe they’re within their rights to get rid of me, but we have a massive staff turnover and every time someone leaves it seems like this is when the EA get a call. Plus they would need to find a hiab driver willing to work bank holidays and weekends (4 on 4 off rota) for less than £10 per hour flat rate (there is no time and a half or double time, not even for Boxing Day).
My local driving agency advertises Class 2 jobs at £10-£17 per hour, my mate is kicking my arse to jump the gun and apply for some of these jobs right now.
You should listen to yourself and your buddy you have just gave yourself all the answers that you need
When you work for cowboys like that you just keep driving till it stops or blows its self out
Wait and see if he sacks you sue him past track records account for everything
Seems like you made the schoolboy error of fessing up to ignoring the warning light. As you state, you was outside the cab using the crane when the pulley sheared off (I’m assuming engine running for pto?). You can’t monitor dash warnings whilst outside the cab. I admire you for owning up, as not enough people do. But I would have pulled up on the warning light and put the ball in the operators court, although on top of Christmas I’d be using the “it was alright while I had it” defence to cover my stupidity and keep my job
Yeah, I do wish I’d kept my mouth shut, there’s any number of things I could have said to cover my arse, I just wish I’d been more switched on last week…
And I’m not kidding