A Dundee bus driver who made rude gestures at a female motorist was fairly sacked.
An employment tribunal has ruled that the dismissal of Ross McMahon was within the range of reasonable responses by National Express Dundee.
He followed and flashed his lights at the female driver who had blocked him at his bus stop because another driver had blocked her route.
When he got her attention he made rude signs with his hands. The woman lodged a complaint with the company about the incident, which happened on April 10 last year.
CCTV footage was examined and it covered a sequence of events, which culminated with Mr McMahon’s bus pulling up behind the Volkswagen car.
Mr McMahon was seen to flash his lights at the driver several times. He then leaned forward, extended his right hand and make a rude gesture, and followed this by bringing his hand towards his head and repeating the gesture several times. The bus lights flashed again as the Volkswagen moved away.
Mr McMahon apologised unreservedly and stated that the car driver had “cut him up” and had made a rude gesture at him at about the same time as he flashed his lights.
He described his behaviour as “a momentary madness” that would never be repeated and volunteered to write a letter of apology to the woman stating his regret.
Mr McMahon was told his behaviour was being treated as serious misconduct and he was called to a disciplinary interview, which concluded that his gestures had been particularly offensive.
He was dismissed and the decision was upheld at an appeal.
Mr McMahon’s solicitor told the tribunal his client had accepted responsibility, had been provoked, and his behaviour was out of character in a 20-year career with the company.
The company’s solicitor said the driver’s behaviour was not just inappropriate but disgusting and at the extreme end of the scale. The woman had been so upset she went to the firm’s travel shop to complain.
Tribunal judge Ian McFatridge said the panel may have been persuaded by McMcMahon’s length of service and contrite apology to exercise leniency, but they were not allowed to substitute their own view.
Mr McMahon’s guilt was clear from the company’s findings and he had behaved “in a completely outrageous way” by making disgusting gestures prolonged over many seconds.
He intended the complainer to see the signs and to be disgusted and upset by them.
The tribunal noted the view of Phil Smith, the company’s managing director, who said: “We are trying to run a reputable bus company and we can’t have drivers doing that.”