Damage caused by employee

LadyMissA

KittyPryde wrote: »

This happened to a guy who was a tesco delivery driver and he was just sacked. But I think it may have been because it was his first few days on the job maybe.

surely if you are in the job a short while then you are likely to make a mistake and not the other way round

Savvy_Sue

patman99 wrote: »

It's like the shortages in tills scenario, you can no longer deduct out of the wages for it.

I believe you can if it's in the t&c, as long as it doesn't take the employee below minimum wage?

Even if I'm wrong about that, in this situation you can't just deduct the cost UNLESS there is prior written agreement for such a deduction, in the employee's written statement or in the company handbook which everyone has access to.

The OP might want to consider updating t&c to cover damage to vehicles and equipment.

The question about training is valid, however. At the very least, did someone say to the employee "this vehicle takes ..." And were they asked to refuel and reminded again? It might seem like overkill, but let me tell you a cautionary tale about company vehicles.

We have a van. Some years ago we used the van to try to take some rubbish to the tip. Driver plus passenger wondered why the staff were waving at them, and failed to notice the height restriction. Result: blue sky showing through the van roof.

We got it repaired, bit of a bodge but it did the job. A year or so later, the colleague who was the passenger in the van on that occasion suggests using the van to take some rubbish to the tip. Fortunately I overheard and asked if they'd forgotten what happened last time we tried this ... they had!

corbyboy

I think it would be a bit of a slippery slope to charge the employee for their mistake.

Do you charge other employees if they make a mistake that costs the company money? What if somebody drops a box and breaks something? What if somebody orders something incorrectly and you are unable to return it.

Employees make mistakes. I think it's reasonable for employers to cover the cost of honest mistakes made by their employees.

RobertoMoir

corbyboy wrote: »

I think it would be a bit of a slippery slope to charge the employee for their mistake.

Do you charge other employees if they make a mistake that costs the company money? What if somebody drops a box and breaks something? What if somebody orders something incorrectly and you are unable to return it.

Employees make mistakes. I think it's reasonable for employers to cover the cost of honest mistakes made by their employees.

I have to agree. I've got no problem with disciplinary action for negligence for repeated or especially egregious errors, however, I turned down a job offer upon receiving a contract that said they would charge the employee for mistakes such as damaging a company laptop.

It was a bit odd actually, when I emailed them and told them thanks but I was unable to accept the job and explained why they phoned back and offered to remove the offending clause from my contract, but on reflection I decided I didn't want to work for a company that would try and put in the contract in the first place.

globalds

Learn from the mistake and buy one of these.

http://www.stopdieselmisfuelling.co.uk/index.php

Then your £150 bill will not be wasted.

miss_edith

erdd2 wrote: »

Was he sufficiently trained will be one question thrown at you and please...I don't write policy, rules or statute!

Crazy I know but yes, he has been using the van for about 18 months so has refueled it many times. There is also a diesel label on the fuel cap so can't make it much clearer.

Thanks globalds, will be ordering one of those. Haven't seen one before, its a good piece of insurance.

globalds

miss_edith wrote: »

Crazy I know but yes, he has been using the van for about 18 months so has refueled it many times. There is also a diesel label on the fuel cap so can't make it much clearer.

Thanks globalds, will be ordering one of those. Haven't seen one before, its a good piece of insurance.

We have had the same thing happen a couple of times ...That we know of) ...It is easy done ,especially if you are going from a petrol vehicle - your own car - and a diesel ..You just pick up the nozzle that you most often use.


If petrol gets in with one of those fitted you will know it is sabotage

Person_one

globalds wrote: »

Learn from the mistake and buy one of these.

http://www.stopdieselmisfuelling.co.uk/index.php

Then your £150 bill will not be wasted.

Or put a label or sticker on saying either 'Petrol' or 'Diesel' for much less money?

whitelabel

KittyPryde wrote: »

This happened to a guy who was a tesco delivery driver and he was just sacked. But I think it may have been because it was his first few days on the job maybe.

really ?

dont tesco use electric vehicles ? they do from my local depot

Savvy_Sue

Person_one wrote: »

Or put a label or sticker on saying either 'Petrol' or 'Diesel' for much less money?

OP said they already had a label on the filler cap. I think that comes as standard. Doesn't physically stop you putting a petrol 'spout' into a diesel hole though.