Tribunal rules Merseyside firefighter Kevin Hughes should be given his job back
A SACKED firefighter should be given his job back according to the findings of an employment tribunal.
Gary StewartHomepage Editor
Kevin Hughes is also owed £35,000 in back pay after being unfairly dismissed for punching a colleague's son.
But Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have so far failed to confirm he will be welcomed back to red watch at Whiston Fire Station after more than year of legal wranglings.
Despite the clear decision by employment judge Keith Robinson that Mr Hughes should be reinstated by April 4 a fire service spokesperson would only say the matter would be discussed by members of Merseyside Fire Authority on Thursday.
The row began in July 2009 when Mr Hughes was dismissed for attacking James Tasker, then 19, in the Victoria Pub in Rainhill.
His sacking brought Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service to the brink of strike action after the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said the dismissal process was flawed.
Industrial action was only avoided when an agreement was reached between the fire service and FBU that if a tribunal ordered his reinstatement they would "respect the decision".
But last month Chief Fire Officer Tony McGuirk said it was "not possible" for Mr Hughes to be reinstated as he had lost the confidence of managers and that the agreement didn't mean they would necessarily take him back.
The employment judge took Mr McGuirk to task over his comments, saying he "seemed to have set his face against Mr Hughes being reinstated".
The judgement went on to say: "There was an illogicality in Mr McGuirk's evidence. It was flawed because the fire service had agreed with the union in November 2009 that if an employment tribunal directed reinstatement the fire service would respect the decision."
Although they agreed Mr Hughes was not "whiter than white" they said the assault had happened outside work and was not acceptable grounds for dismissal.
They also dismissed damning evidence from Cllr Andrew Chapman Hodson, a former Mayor of Wirral, because he had refused to attend the tribunal in person.
Kevin Hughes, a dad-of-two from Rainhill, has always said he wanted his job back rather than a compensation pay out.