Labour Court recommends changes to B & Q worker’s sanctions

The Labour Court recommended that B & Q remove a worker’s final written warning after it expired on 31 December 2017, restore him to his previous grade from 31 March 2018 and return him to warehouse work from 1 April 2018. The worker, represented by Mandate, said he had not breached the company vehicle movement policy or put colleagues and warehouse visitors at risk. B & Q did not attend the hearing. The Court found the sanction severe, disproportionate and unreasonable on the uncontested account, but said it was reluctant to recommend an outcome that could infringe the employer’s health and safety duties. If health and safety reasons made a warehouse return impossible, the Court recommended compensation for resulting lost earnings and, if necessary, a grade outside the warehouse as close as possible to his previous one. The recommendation was signed on 28 November 2017.