Former employee claims in employment tribunal that his dismissal by company was “breach of contract”

A four-day employment tribunal in which Balfour Beatty is accused of wrongfully dismissing a blacklisted worker started today in London.

Mick Dooley, who ran for election as Ucatt general secretary last year, claims that Balfour Beatty dismissed him from a site in Victoria, central London, in 1993, because of information about him that was held on a blacklist. He is claiming £35,000 plus damages in a claim described by the employment tribunal as “breach of contract”.

The claim will be the first since an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office, which uncovered a database had been set up for contractors to vet workers' backgrounds. A total of 14 firms were issued enforcement notices for subscribing to the database. Its owner, Ian Kerr, was fined £5,000.

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