Long-term sick row | DHL driver sacked after two-year absence loses disability discrimination tribunal claim

A DHL employee who was sacked after being off sick for two years has lost a compensation bid.

Mr E Milrine, an HGV driver based in Cumbernauld, Scotland, had been employed by the logistics firm for nine years until his dismissal in June 2022. He was sacked with immediate effect and given nine weeks’ pay instead of being given a notice period.

According to an employment tribunal appeal, at the time of his dismissal Milrine had not worked since January 2020, having become unwell following a workplace incident that occurred in 2017 (details of which weren’t revealed in the tribunal hearing).

He was set to receive medical support for his condition but the Covid lockdowns ground things to a halt.