A man who was seen washing his father’s car while he was on sick leave was awarded almost €5,800 in compensation after an industrial tribunal ruled breach of trust was not a good enough reason to fire someone.

Lack of trust in an employee is not a good enough reason for job termination

Brian Bonnici won a case he filed against Island Hotels Group where he worked as an assistant cost controller, after having been promoted from his part-time waiter role.

The issue revolved around a report reviewed by the company’s chief operations officer, Raphael Cauchi, which said Mr Bonnici was seen at a service station helping his father wash his car while he was on sick leave with a leg problem.

Mr Bonnici at first denied the incident but later admitted lying. As a result, he was told he had breached his employer’s trust and was sacked.

He took his case to the tribunal which decided in his favour, quoting the Employment and Industrial Relations Act as saying that lack of trust in an employee is not a good enough reason for job termination.

The tribunal heard Mr Bonnici hurt his leg while he was at work on October 16, 2011. The following day, he called in sick and a company doctor examined him at home.

The doctor suspected he had a cartilage problem and certified him sick for three days. However, on the fourth day he called in sick again and the company doctor referred him to a specialist.

On October 21, he called to set an appointment and was given a slot for later that day. As his father was driving him to the appointment, they stopped at a service station where he helped his father wash the car tyres.

Later that day, he received a call from Mr Cauchi who asked him whether he had left his home but Mr Bonnici vehemently denied it. Mr Cauchi called him a second time after being shown a photo of Mr Bonnici washing his father’s car, but he denied it again.

The following day, a Saturday, he went to work and admitted his lie to Mr Cauchi. On Monday, he was sacked.

A few days later, he and his father met the company’s managing director, Winston Zahra, who offered him a lower-grade bartending job, but he did not accept. Mr Bonnici suggested a suspension rather than termination but this was not accepted.

He worked part-time between January and March last year before finding full-time employment with a different company. He was also successfully operated upon for the cartilage problem.

Mr Zahra testified before the tribunal that Mr Bonnici was not a troublesome employee and, some time before the incident, had won an in-house employees’ award.

Tribunal chairman Antoine DeGiovanni said the tribunal felt Mr Bonnici’s decision to help his father wash his car along with his resistance to tell the truth had contributed to the termination of his employment. They merited some form of disciplinary action but not termination.

It ruled that the termination of his employment was in breach of the Act and therefore ordered the company to pay €5,737 in compensation.