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Use of mobile phones when driving

While most organisations have rules on the use of mobile phones when driving, a number of recent cases have highlighted the important of their application in a fair, consistent and reasonable manner.

In Ruparell v East London Bus & Coach Co Ltd, CCTV footage showed the bus driver taking his hands off the steering wheel to put the phone into his pocket and then put one hand back on the wheel to secure the phone with his other hand. The Employment Tribunal held that the dismissal was fair and took into account the employer's strict and clearly communicated ban on mobile phone use, which included a prohibition on the "visible presence" of mobile phones in the cab area.

In contrast in Whitehead v FirstGroup Holdings Ltd, the employee was observed in his car entering the company car park using his mobile phone. In this instance the dismissal was held by the Employment Tribunal to be unfair for two reasons, namely:-

1. The company mobile phone policy was not clear as to whether it applied to staff when entering the company car park in their own car (as occurred in this instance).

2. Account should have taken into the mitigating circumstances namely 36 years unblemished and impeccable service and the stress he was under in his personal and work life.

The key message from these cases are that rules you have must be put into the context of the situation and applied in a fair manner.