News

A national parcels delivery firm has sucessfully opposed a compensation claim by a former lorry driver, who alleged he had been given too many items to deliver over a wide area. Martin Grenham told those at a Birmingham Employment Tribunal that the workload imposed by West Midlands-based Geopost UK was so great that he breached driving hours restrictions to complete the rounds.

Grenham, who admitted he was not able to deliver all the parcels, started his day at 7.30am after joining the  firm, but following the death of his wife, the firm allowed him to work from 9.30am to 6.30pm so he could take his nine-year-old son to school. Grenham was said to be the last driver to make deliveries - most of the others left at 7.30am - but complained his round was too large.

He said that he had too many parcels to deliver and found it "physically impossible" to complete the round on some occasions. He added that the workload caused him stress and forced him to resign, prompting his compensation claim for constructive unfair dismissal. The firm's depot general manager, Andrew Webb, denied Greenham's truck "mopped up" parcels left behind for delivery simply because he was the last driver out.

Webb said drivers had between ten and 22 drops a day, but that Grenham had fewer parcels than the other drivers. Tribunal chairman Alan McCarry said it appeared Grenham had been dissatisfied with his job for some time and had planned to resign. As a result, McCarry rejected Grenham's  claim for constructive unfair dismissal.