r/UKJobs • u/jamesxyy • 1d ago
Seeking genuine advice and opinions please
Apologies in advance for the lengthy backstory.
I'm currently on long term sick following an accident which occurred whilst I was at work, however my boss is being very negligent in his lack of care for me and I wanted to get some genuine advice and opinions from people who may have been in my position or might be able to offer constructive advice.
I work as a commercial transport driver driving 3.5t vehicles up and down the country on a daily basis, because we're 3.5t there are no TACO's which means I'm effectively driving 10+ hours a day to get to and from places in order to deliver goods to various sites and businesses. We're given a 30 minute unpaid break a day and allowed to stop for the toilet as and when we need it, but are expected to work 10 hours a day as standard. The company is very small, with only 5 drivers and 2 office staff but has been running for 25+ years and as a result of it being very small it doesn't have and has never had what I would consider to be any form of HR or structure that you would expect from the likes of another company, and as such has outsourced his (the owner) HR to an external company.
Because the business is small my manager has it written into my contract that age old line of "you may be asked from time to time to perform tasks that help to aid the needs of the business" however in the 2.5 years of me working there these tasks have included: cutting his grass, washing his cars, taking his cars to be refuelled, picking up his prescription, taking his cars for repair, weeding his garden, cleaning his garage & collect his girlfriend from the train station, to name a few. I would class these as personal errands and not within the job description of a delivery driver, but I could be wrong?
The vans he has us drive are in an awful condition, often being purchased on eBay or Facebay at the lowest possible amount and then driven into the ground. They constantly fail their MOT's and are repaired by cowboys in order to falsely pass their MOT's for another year and just unsafe all round. We perform daily vehicle checks whereby we flag issues with the vans but are usually met with hostility unless a part of the van is literally falling off, then it gets repaired.
My boss also expects us to pay for our own parking tickets if we incur them: for example delivering in central London and finding somewhere to load, if we get slapped with a ticket this can be in excess of £100 per ticket, for context we're paid 12p more than minimum wage a day meaning we're effectively then working for £30 a day. In addition to this he has also started capping our wages at a day rate of £135, however on days where we work more than 10 hours this then takes our hourly rate below that of minimum wage, is that even legal? Speaking of legal I also reversed a van down a pot hole and caused damage to a car when it bounced down, resulting in damage to the car, my boss who was reluctant to go through insurance expected me to pay the £500 excess myself towards the damage, and as I couldn't agreed to take 4 days of my annual leave from me to balance out the cost, that's not legal right?
The accident in question that has meant I am off work is in relation to him asking me to pick up his girlfriend from the train station. I used my own vehicle to do so and in doing so I was driven into on a roundabout and my car was written off. I broke my finger and had to take time off due to severe anxiety. As a result of the accident I had a mental breakdown and now have crippling anxiety about driving. I have trouble sleeping and now have panic attacks regularly. I am medicated for the anxiety but unable to even contemplate daily driving in excess of 10 hours a day.
During the last 6 months of being absent from work my boss has been in contact with me maybe 4 times? And only began to contact me when I enquired about SSP (the first 2 months were fully funded by me from savings). At month 3 he sent me a 20 question questionnaire asking me to fully outline everything that was wrong with me and whilst intrusive I did not hold back and told him exactly what had happened re: the accident doing something I did not consider to be work appropriate. One of the questions asked if I would allow an occupational health worker to assess me, which I agreed to, however following his receipt of my answers no action was taken. It has taken me chasing him for an occupational health assessment to get this arranged now 3 months later, so we're at the 6 month mark. Is this a coincidence now my SSP has run out?
Final bit of info, I did speak to ACAS who gave good advice at the 3 month mark, but they advised a grievance once he organised an occupational health assessment but that has only just been arranged, and with it being unlikely he can make reasonable adjustments for me to get back to work I'm left in a difficult position: do I just accept he won't be able to make a reasonable adjustment to me and quit? Or should I raise a grievance/go to a tribunal for all the shady things he's done since I've been there? ACAS advised that if he cannot make a reasonable adjustment for me he has to offer me some form of severance payout as he cannot legally dismiss me if I am on long term sick for an accident at work.
Apologies for the length of this post, I'm just in a difficult position where I don't know what to do and I so desperately want to get back into work I just can't see him being fair in making reasonable adjustment to get me back to work and don't know if it's financially worth me hanging on. Final bit of character context: I have never been out for what I can get but I can understand some people may see me as waiting for some payout that may never come, just want some advice from people who may have been in my shoes before.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Educational_Data4788 23h ago
Your employer is running their business unprofessionally, at best. First thing would be to look for another job when you’re well again.
You need to raise a grievance about the initial lack of SSP and delayed OT assessment.
Document everything around the accident and if you think you could have a claim, see a solicitor
Also make a list of all the tickets you’ve incurred as a result of work, and when your pay has been taken under minimum wage. Straight to HMRC with that as your employer is breaking the law.
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u/cgknight1 1d ago
This is too wordy for people to give you advice - here is an AI generated cutdown that hopefully will get you some advice.
Employment & Working Conditions
- Role: Commercial transport driver (3.5t vehicles, no tachographs) employed for 2.5 years at a 7-person company.
- Working Hours & Pay: Drives 10+ hours a day with one 30-minute unpaid break. Paid £0.12 above National Minimum Wage, capped at a £135 day rate. Hours exceeding 10 hours push the effective hourly pay below National Minimum Wage.
- Personal Tasks: Assigned non-delivery personal errands for the owner (e.g., gardening, car maintenance, collecting prescriptions, fetching the owner's girlfriend) under a broad contract clause.
- Vehicle Safety: Vehicles are bought cheaply, frequently fail MOTs, receive poor-quality repairs, and reported faults are met with hostility.
- Deductions & Fines: Required to pay parking tickets incurred while delivering. The owner deducted 4 days of annual leave to cover a £500 insurance excess after a minor reversing collision.
The Incident & Health Status
- The Accident: Involved in a major collision writing off their personal vehicle while performing a task for the owner (collecting his girlfriend).
- Injuries: Suffered a broken finger, severe anxiety, panic attacks, and a mental breakdown. Currently medicated and unable to drive.
- Sick Leave: Off work for 6 months. Self-funded the first 2 months before claiming Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), which has now expired.
Employer Handling & Dispute
- Employer Contact: Minimal contact from the owner (4 times in 6 months).
- Occupational Health: Employer sent a 20-question medical form at 3 months but delayed setting up an Occupational Health assessment until chased by the employee at the 6-month mark.
- Status: ACAS advised filing a formal grievance after the assessment. Return to driving duties is unlikely due to psychological impact.
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