Rail Worker Wins £70k After Being Accused of Offensive Remark
A railway signaller has been awarded £70,000 for unfair dismissal after being accused of making a derogatory comment.
Didcot, UK, Michael Knox, Network Rail, RMT, Unfair Dismissal
Didcot: So, here’s the scoop. A railway signaller named Michael Knox got into some hot water after he was accused of calling a cleaner a “Nazi food thrower.” This all went down when he found some of his food on the counter in the staff kitchen.
His employer, Network Rail, wasn’t having it and fired him for gross misconduct. This led to a bit of a stir, with the RMT union backing him up and even voting for strike action after he was let go.
Fast forward to the tribunal, and guess what? They ruled in Knox’s favor! They found he didn’t actually say what he was accused of. The whole thing started back in January 2021 when a cleaner, Bogamil Jacek Plaszcyca, was just doing his job at the Thames Valley Signalling Centre.
This place is crucial for managing train signals from Paddington all the way to the Welsh border. There was a policy in place about cleaning out the fridge, which had been causing some tension among the staff. Apparently, it had been a sore spot for a while.
After some investigation, Knox was called in for a disciplinary hearing. He was accused of saying some pretty nasty stuff to the cleaner. But when he talked to his managers, he admitted he was upset about his son’s food being left out but denied saying anything offensive.
The manager who fired him said he should have done a better job of keeping things civil in the workplace. The RMT’s general secretary even asked for a review of the decision, but it didn’t go anywhere.
In the end, the tribunal said while Knox was loud and caused a scene, they couldn’t be sure what he actually said to the cleaner. They awarded him a total of £70,000 for unfair dismissal and breach of contract.
Now, the RMT is pushing for him to get his job back, saying they’ll take further action if he doesn’t. It’s a wild story, right?