London parking warden sacked for using dead mum’s blue badge while shopping

London parking warden sacked for using dead mum’s blue badge while shopping Dinesh Patel used the badge to avoid paying for parking, a tribunal heard - Bookmark A senior parking warden has been dismissed after being caught using his dead mother’s blue badge. Dinesh Patel, a parking officer with two decades of experience for the London Borough of Harrow, was found to have breached the very regulations he was responsible for enforcing, an employment tribunal heard. He was discovered displaying his late mother’s badge in his vehicle to avoid parking charges while shopping, the tribunal heard. Mr Patel described his actions as a “silly mistake”. However, he was fired on the grounds that he “should be leading by example”. His subsequent unfair dismissal claim against the council was rejected by the tribunal, which ruled that his professional experience meant he was fully aware of the rules. Watford Employment Tribunal heard Mr Patel started working as a Civil Enforcement Officer for the London Borough of Harrow in December 2001, and he was promoted to Senior Civil Enforcement Officer in August 2019. His role included "monitoring, reporting and enforcing the misuse of disabled blue badges" and "giving evidence to court about criminal and civil breaches". Mr Patel’s mother was a blue badge user. It was valid from August 2018 to August 2021, but she died three months before its expiry. On 20 September 2021, Mr Patel was issued a Penalty Charge Notice because he was found to be using his mother’s blue badge. Mr Patel claimed that his aunt was with him in the car and that he left to get some shopping having parked the car, and that she later left the car, displaying the blue badge. He said that he did not pay for his parking because it was during Covid and he was unsure if a payment was required. In May 2022, Mr Patel pleaded guilty at magistrates’ court to wrongful use of a disabled person’s badge and received a fine. His manager, Gary Cooley, became aware of his offence and he invited him to a disciplinary meeting. At the meeting, Mr Patel explained that different people had access to the car and that he would drive around with the blue badge on the dashboard. Employment Judge Nathaniel Caiden said: "Mr Patel explained this was a silly mistake and didn’t think the matter would go further.” After the disciplinary hearing, the council decided to dismiss Mr Patel because he had committed gross misconduct. The letter for his dismissal said: "Before making my decision, I took into account your explanation at the hearing that it was in fact your aunt who displayed the blue badge in the vehicle registered to you and the statement made by your colleague Sunday Nger, that you had already suffered enough in terms of the fine and being found guilty by the court. "However, based upon the evidence presented I have concluded the following serious breaches took place. “You did not disclose the alleged offence to your employer prior to your manager Gary Cooley’s meeting with you on 7th April 2022, at which point Gary Cooley was already aware of the allegation and brought it to your attention. "This is a breach of Harrow Council’s Employee Handbook. “Given your role as a ‘Senior Civil Enforcement Officer’ and your tenure at Harrow Council of over 20 years, you should be leading by example and ensure that any matters relating to fraud would be disclosed to Management at the earliest opportunity. “Your failure to recognise the seriousness of your actions. "In contacting Brent Council, you advised the process for renewing blue badges had been delayed by the issuing local authority Harrow Council, when in fact the badge holder was known by you to be deceased. "This raises serious concerns regarding your honesty and moral principles. "On the balance of probabilities, I am satisfied with the evidence presented to uphold the allegation and consider this to be gross misconduct." Judge Caiden ruled that there was no unfair dismissal. He said: "Whilst you have maintained that it was not you who displayed the disabled parking badge, you are responsible for this action as the vehicle is registered to your name. "I sympathise with you regarding the loss of your mum and the impact it had on you however, you had enough time from the time of her passing on 31st May 2021 and the date of the incident 29th September 2021 (about 4 months) to return the disabled parking badge. "The Tribunal concludes that there was nothing outside the band of reasonable responses in [the Council] in this case determining that – in effect – the lengthy service meant [Mr Patel] should have definitely know better and so it would not offset the very serious misconduct (which was indeed classed as gross misconduct). "The key matters had been established by the criminal conviction, and it was legitimate for it to view that as conclusively establishing the fundamental facts – [Mr Patel] being responsible (in the sense of being the register owner) – of a car that had improperly displayed a blue badge contrary to legal provisions. "This largely deals with the point about the aunt allegedly being the one to display the blue badge; "There was a particularly strong relationship between the criminal conviction and [Mr Patel"s] job. "He should therefore have known of the position and was in fact responsible for enforcing it. "Once again, this was plainly something that was on the mind of the [Council] at the material time. "The [Council] had concluded that the way [Mr Patel] had behaved after the allegations were raised with him was not honest." [Image text:] 23 -Display This Way Up Wlil/ Front- 25/11/2013 TIME OF ARRIVAL Valid From: DISABLED PERSON'S PARKING DISC FOR USE ONLY WITH A VALID BLUE BADGE 24/11/201 No:1CB5E6 TIME LIMIT