The compensation awarded to a delivery company boss for constructive dismissal was more than 46,000 PS after he expressed concerns about the safety and reliability of the ebikes that his business used.
Sebastien potts worked for Urb-it in the UK, a Swedish company that delivered goods using e-bikes. He joined the company at the beginning of 2021.
The company promoted the image of “accelerating urban logistics through fast, reliable and emission-free delivery” and stored the bicycles in hubs throughout London.
Potts expressed concerns to Kevin Kviblad in September 2022, stating that the lithium battery charging process could lead to a fire in the hubs.
He stated that the “risk of life for employees and the general public” was real and called on the company to act to reduce this risk. He wanted to know his responsibilities as a director of a country in the event that something happened.
The court heard that the fire in 2022, in a railway arched near one of hubs was caused by lithium batteries.
The company told him that “funding restrictions” would prevent them from installing fire-safe batteries.
He reiterated his concerns several times, saying that directors of companies could face criminal prosecution for manslaughter.
Kviblad told the tribunal that “all other directors are Swedish citizens who live in Sweden”. According to Swedish law a corporation can’t commit a crime. Kvibald joked that the UK didn’t have an extradition agreement with Sweden.
Potts stated: “Each time I expressed my concerns, I was reminded that there was no order of extradition and I felt Kevin didn’t take this serious.”
In October 2022, he made the decision of resigning and called a meeting with his team where he voiced again his concerns. He also brought up issues regarding discrimination towards women and black team members.
Potts requested a notice period of nine months, but the company, upon confirmation of his resignation, invoked its contractual notice, which is three months.
In judgement, Employment judge Emery stated that Potts was forced to resign after he raised safety concerns and that his manager “did not seem to take the matter seriously”. Instead, Emery claimed that Potts could be held liable for an accident.
Emery concluded that Potts was “automatically constructively fired” because of his treatment. He said it was “a repudiatory breach in contract made by him for raising whistleblowing accusations”.
The company has now entered voluntary liquidation. remedy judgement demanded that it pay Potts over PS43,000 for lost wages and pensions as well as expenses to relocate him to Australia.
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