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RAC executive awarded £1,500 following unfair dismissal

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An executive has been awarded almost £1,500 compensation after being unfairly dismissed by the roadside services provider, RAC.

Jim Monteith, aged 52, claimed at a Birmingham Employment Tribunal that he had been the victim of a “sham” redundancy move by the RAC.

The RAC opposed his legal claim and said he had lost his job because of a redundancy situation following staff changes.

Meanwhile, the claimant accused RAC of using the redundancy claim as “window dressing” and alleged that he had lost his position in a cost cutting move.

“The redundancy allegation is a sham,” said Mr Monteith’s representative.

“There were problems between RAC’s business services section and the team dealing with accidents and there was a pre-determined decision by the management to dismiss the claimant.

“They were acting under instructions and failed to give Mr Monteith prior warning that he was losing his job. They also warned him not to talk to his work colleagues.”

Judge David Goodier pointed out that it was routine among most firms, based on his experience as a Tribunal Judge, to dissuade employees communicating with work colleagues while facing redundancy.

However, Mr Monteith’s representative continued, the claimant had not been offered a redundancy “score assessment chart”, which should have revealed how his work load compares with other employees who may have been considered for redundancy.

They said: “This meant he could not challenge the reasons for his so-called redundancy.

“As a result, the dismissal procedure had not been conducted properly.”

They added that other colleagues were offered the possibility of being found other roles within the organisation, which they said was the normal procedure where redundancies were concerned.

Based on this evidence, Judge Goodier concluded that Mr Monteith had been unfairly dismissed, and awarded him the sum of £1,425.

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