Man awarded high-value dismissal payout

A worker in Dundee has been awarded one of the largest ever unfair dismissal payouts following an employment tribunal in Scotland.

David Galloway, who was a site supervisor for Kitsons Environmental Europe Ltd of Warrington, will receive £76,200 after it was ruled that he is entitled to £7,800 above the prescribed limit of £68,400 due to loss of earnings.

Mr Galloway was sacked for gross misconduct in March 2011 and has spent the last two years without permanent work. He described how he is “over the moon” with the award.

Mr Galloway was one of three workers dismissed by the firm, after it found during spot checks they had been claiming for eight hours’ work at weekends – even if they were not actually present at GlaxoSmithKline in Montrose. However, all three employees said they were unfairly dismissed, citing an agreement that they would be paid for a day’s work every weekend whether or not they actually worked a full eight hours or not.

James Heggie, a charge hand insulator, picked up £16,048.96 from a tribunal panel ruling. Meanwhile, advanced scaffolder Brian Russell is believed to have been paid an undisclosed sum after Kitsons agreed a settlement with him.

Kitsons, which specialises in installing thermal insulation and asbestos removal, required staff for ad hoc non-maintenance work at weekends. They were needed when instructed by the firm’s main contractor Doosan Babcock at weekends. Under their contracts the claimants were able to be paid for a full working day at weekends whether or not they actually worked that many hours. Kitsons investigated the workers’ pay slips, timesheets and gate reports after concerns were raised. The firm had claimed that Mr Galloway was falsifying timesheet information for financial gain.

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