Bus driver sacked after leaving passengers on board while he went to get coffee

A London bus driver was sacked after he abandoned a bus full of passengers at the side of the road to grab a coffee and use the toilet at a nearby café.

Ian Brown, who was already under caution for poor attendance, made the bus late as a result of the incident, an employment tribunal heard.

When the controller called him to ask why the bus was late, Mr Brown said he was being bullied, refused to keep driving and abandoned the vehicle at a nearby station.

CCTV footage also showed Mr Brown running a red light after becoming distracted by reading a letter inviting him to a disciplinary hearing.

Mr Brown could be heard accusing his boss of bullying him, and that he was entitled to pay while suspended.

He said: ‘Controllers’ constant bullying and harassment while on duty goes unnoticed. Are you saying I have no rights to a toilet break or to be paid while off sick…. This is not a self-suspension but stress under duress.’

Both the footage and Mr Brown’s attendance records were later reviewed at a misconduct hearing, which led to the driver being sacked on August 11, 2020.

However, his appeal on the grounds of unfair dismissal by Arriva London North also failed, the tribunal held on February 22 and 23, 2023, revealed.

A judgement report on the tribunal by Judge Tuck KC was posted online this month, which read: ‘On 13 March 2020 the claimant was driving a double decker bus on route 243.

‘Ms Bishop’s statement says he arrived late to take over the bus – at around 14.17 hrs, then left it unsecured at a bus stand, with the engine running and passengers on board, while he went to the café to use the toilet and collect a hot drink, not leaving the stand until 14.21hrs. 

‘I understand this was agreed by the claimant who also confirmed his work was due to commence at 14.14hrs. 

‘CCTV from a camera in the bus cab from 14.22 to 14.23 shows the claimant opening a sealed envelope while the bus appears to be stationary, then with the bus in motion, shows the claimant taking pages which had been in the envelope, opening them from folded to A4 size, and flicking through the pages. 

‘The CCTV shows that the claimant left his indicator flashing when it should have been turned off as he was opening out the folded papers, and a second CCTV view of the same minute (some 10 seconds later) shows that the claimant was breaking as he approached a traffic light, shows the light turning from amber to red at least 3 seconds before the claimant reached the stop line, and the claimant proceeding across the junction. 

‘It is not in dispute that the letter which was in the claimant’s hand and shown during this CCTV footage was the letter dated 12 March inviting him to a disciplinary hearing.’

According to the judgement, the controller told Mr Brown that a refusal to continue to drive would be a ‘self suspension’, to which the driver replied: ‘I’m not suspending myself, you are bullying me and I’m not fit to drive. You can collect the bus from Seven Sisters’. 

Mr Brown then left the bus at the Seven Sisters station, where it stayed until it was collected by another driver, the judgement said.

Mr Tuck concluded that ‘I am satisfied that dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses. Furthermore, I would have found that the claimant contributed to his dismissal by 100 per cent.’

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