Sacked driver who disregarded procedures, damaged vehicles and almost cost Buccini Transport a major client tries to claim unfair dismissal
By Brad Gardner | November 26, 2012
A “cavalier” truck driver who disregarded company procedures left a trail of damage and almost cost Buccini Transport a lucrative contract with a major client.
A recent unfair dismissal hearing before Fair Work Australia detailed a number of transgressions Jeffrey Cranny committed in his eight months in the job with the Queensland-based Buccini Transport that led to his sacking.
Cranny was involved in two at-fault vehicle accidents in December 2011 and January this year, but did not comply with requirements set down for incidents to be immediately reported.
A load he delivered to ASEAN Cargo in April this year turned up rain damaged and partially missing. Cranny neglected to cover the freight with a tarp, despite company procedures stipulating otherwise, leading to about 10 percent of ASEAN’s product becoming unsellable.
He then abused an ASEAN employee when asked about the three missing packages and the condition of the freight, prompting ASEAN to threaten to withdraw more than $2 million worth of business with Buccini Transport.
The operator, which is a main carrier servicing the Port of Brisbane, stepped in and sacked Cranny for poor performance and misconduct.
FWA Senior Deputy President Peter Richards upheld Buccini’s actions and criticised the truck driver.
“The Applicant disregarded policy and procedures in relation to the incidents of December 2011 and January 2012, and was cavalier in his explanation for his non-compliance. He again disregarded his instructions and the reasonable practices of the business in relation to restraining and covering loads in the 18 April 2012 incident,” Richards says in his written judgment.
“The Applicant’s failure to comply with this instruction and the express expectations placed upon him as a driver for the Respondent [Buccini] resulted in financial loss and reputational damage to the Respondent.”
Cranny initially denied being involved in an accident on December 21, but he indicated awareness of it in a written statement for insurance purposes. He then neglected to inform Buccini Transport when he clipped a B-double in January.
Buccini Transport was made aware of the accident when the owner of the B-double contacted the company. A claim for damages was subsequently made against it.
Richards rejected Cranny’s claims he did not have access to a tarp to cover ASEAN’s freight and that he was physically incapable of fitting it alone. Richards says evidence provided by company representatives “discredited” Cranny’s claims.
“The evidence in particular was to the contrary, and starkly so. It is apparent to me having heard the evidence that the Applicant is in denial generally in relation to the obligation which fell upon him as a driver in charge of a load,” he says.
“On balance, therefore, given the findings I have reached on the available evidence, the Applicant in my view was not dismissed ultimately on terms that were harsh, unjust and unreasonable.”
