MASK-REFUSING DELIVERY DRIVER ‘FAIRLY DISMISSED’, TRIBUNAL RULES
A lorry driver who was sacked after refusing to wear a facemask inside his cab on a client’s site was fairly dismissed, a judge has ruled. The case is believed to be the first time a tribunal has ruled on facemask refusal.
Deimantas Kubilius brought a claim for unfair dismissal against his employer, Kent Foods, after he was summarily dismissed in June 2020 over an incident at Tate and Lyle’s (T&L) Thames Refinery site. Deimantas had refused to wear a face covering when asked, prompting T&L to ban him from the site for breaching health and safety rules.
Finding in favour of Kent Foods, Judge Barrett said that Deimantas had failed to comply with his employer’s drivers’ handbook, which stipulates that: ‘customer instruction regarding PPE requirements must be followed’. It was therefore reasonable for his employer to fire him for misconduct.
