Hello everyone

[Dazza]

Hello everyone I'm Dazza a HGV driver from Newcastle upon Tyne.
My issue is that today I got home from work to be greeted with a letter from DVLA saying that my HGV licence has been refused due to high blood pressure, I've informed my employer who then told me to collect my belongings from my lorry and that I should look for another job and if I get my BP under control there will be a job there for me which sounds to me that I've been made redundant and would like to know where I stand with the situation.

[ULA]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your job.

I do not think that this is a redundancy situation given that there is still a requirement for the job and it is not that the job no longer exists. However are you a permanent employee of the company and if so how long have you been employed there?

[Dazza]

It was a permanent position and I have worked in this job for 12 years, I was told by a good source that my employer is well within their rights to do it as I was employed as a driver and can no longer do my job sorry but I worded it wrong by saying redundant.

[ULA]

Since you are employed as a driver then not having a driving licence means that you cannot undertake your duties as a driver and the company can therefore consider dismissal.

My concern is that even though this means the company has the potential to dismiss you, with 12 years service they should have followed a disciplinary process and also maybe given consideration as to whether there was an office based role they could have transferred you to.

[Nomoneynoproblem]

In addition to the comment above as holding a licence is a requirement for your role the loss of the said licence can lead to dismissal under some other substantial reason which is a fair reason for dismissal. However, as stated above a process will need to have been followed and failure of the employer to follow the said process could lead to a claim at the employment tribunal. In your situation a claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination can be well founded. You mentioned redundancy, were you given a redundancy payment and also did you receive any notice pay. It might be worth asking for the company's termination policy.