A man who was unfairly dismissed by a car dealership has been awarded more than £18,000.

John Heayns took Athol Garage 1945 Ltd to an employment tribunal after he was dismissed, without notice, in June 2019.

The tribunal, which unanimously ruled in his favour, heard that Mr Heayns had worked for the company, which is based on the Balthane Industrial Estate in Ballasalla, since September 2017, was sacked after an argument about a complaint by a customer who criticised the atmosphere in the company.

Company director David Quayle told the tribunal that on June 26, 2019, he received a phone call from a customer who had booked her car in for servicing that morning.

He said that the woman ’reported that the place was a "morgue" - no-one had looked up to smile or greet her or say good morning’. She told him this made her feel uncomfortable.

Mr Quayle said this was not the first time he had received complaints of this manner and spoke to Mr Heayns and other members of the customer service team to tell them about the complaint and that ’they must greet customers and be welcoming’ and that the current situation ’could not continue’.

He told the tribunal he was worried about the service team, who ’do not follow instructions or change their ways’.

Mr Heayns is said to have tried to ask the woman’s name but Mr Quayle refused to tell him and told the tribunal report he told the team ’if they did not like the regime, they would need to find other jobs’.

Mr Quayle said he continued to row with Mr Heayns about the situation until Mr Heayns said ’I’m off’ and walked past him and down the stairs from the office. Mr Heayns is then said to have told him: ’You won’t be here for long.’

walked out

In Mr Quayle’s version of events, Mr Heayns walked to his desk, collected some belongings and walked out. After he hadn’t heard from him for some days, he assumed he had resigned so asked another member of staff to arrange for Mr Heayns to drop off the company car and other items, which he did.

However, Mr Heayns told the tribunal that during the argument Mr Quayle said that ’things were going to change and be done my way, if anyone does not like it, there is the door’. He left the argument and went for lunch.

After lunch, Mr Heayns spoke to the other company director, Mark Quayle, about an issue he was having with a warranty but raised the issues he was having with David Quayle.

David Quayle is said to have then come into the room and said: ’If you have a problem with me then you should speak to me - not him.’ Mr Heayns said that David Quayle’s manner was ’very condescending and sarcastic’.

After a continuation of the row, Mr Heayns said he told Mr David Quayle he was going back to work but he told him ’get out - get out, you’re gone’.

When Mr Heayns said he was going back to work, he was told ’no you’re not, you’re finished’. He was then escorted to his desk by Mr David Quayle who also followed him to the door on his way out.

Mr Heayns’s version of events was supported by Gabrielle Clague, a former employee of the company, who had been in a first-floor office and could hear the argument between Mr Quayle and Mr Heayns and the former tell the latter ’you’re gone’.

In its judgment, the tribunal, chaired by Peter Scott, found unanimously in Mr Heayns’s favour and said he was dismissed without notice.

The judgement added: ’The tribunal cannot accept that Mr Quayle would not have followed up the complainant’s absence from work, unless he knew that the absence was because Mr Quayle had dismissed him.

’The tribunal further accepts the clear evidence of Ms Clague that Mr Quayle had said: "Get out. Get your stuff and go. You’re gone".’

The panel added that Mr Quayle ’had no reasonable ground for dismissing the complainant’ and that the ’dismissal was not within the band of reasonable responses to the situation at that time’.

Mr Heayns was awarded £16,039.09 for loss of earnings up to the date of the tribunal, £1,328.96 for future loss of earnings, £538.46 for one week’s pay as notice and £335 for loss of statutory rights. In total, he was awarded £18,241.51.