Bus driver dismissed for ramming car…

An employee who worked as a bus driver has had his personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal rejected by the Employment Relations Authority.

The employee was dismissed after he pulled out of a bus bay and clipped the back end of a car. When the car owner notified the driver of the incident the employee called him crazy and shut the bus doors. The bus driver then proceeded to threaten the car owner by nudging the bus forward multiple times, and in doing so bumped the car owner.

The ERA found that the employer had held a full and fair investigation process by providing all relevant information to the employee and by giving him the opportunity to respond. Consequently, the employer acted as a fair and reasonable employer would in the circumstances.

The ERA noted that the employee was not entitled to directly confront or question the car owner when nothing would be gained from doing so, and the employer was not obliged to visit the site when google map pictures were all that was needed to corroborate the car owner’s version of events.