An employee of the Gore District Council was dismissed after it was discovered he did not inspect a slippery road surface that led to a car crash, despite claiming that he did.
An Employment Court found that the firing of roading manager Paul Williamson by the council was justified, Stuff reported. Williamson had previously objected to the dismissal, saying he was given an unjustified disadvantage.
According to the report, the council received complaints of a slippery road surface on Lady Charlton Road on June 11, 2018. This fell under Williamson’s duty, and he directed cartage contractors to clean it up. Williamson later reported that he inspected the site again two days later and found it satisfactory.
On June 16, a car driven by a teenager lost control and crashed on the same road, prompting police to request the council to clean up the road. Williamson also met with the teenager’s parents, who recorded their conversation.
The resulting insurance claim from the crash was declined after cartage contractor contacted Williamson, who confirmed he had inspected the road and found it to be in an acceptable condition, the Stuff report said.
Williamson was also approached by the contractor’s public liability insurance provider, and he again claimed that he did inspect the road.
However, the driver’s mother told the council there were discrepancies with the conversation she had with Williamson, prompting council CEO Stephen Parry to start an investigation. The council checked the E-Road tracking system for council vehicles, and found that the vehicle assigned to Williamson was not present on Lady Charlton Road on either June 11 or June 13.
In his defence, Williamson, through his lawyer, claimed he used another vehicle, either his own or another one from the council, to head to Lady Charlton Road. He also insinuated that the E-Road data might not have been accurate.
However, E-Road data showed that neither Williamson’s nor other council vehicles were present on the dates of June 13, 14, and 15. His mobile phone location data also did not show that he went there on the said dates.
The incident forced the council to settle the insurance claim for the accident. Williamson was found to have committed serious misconduct, and he was dismissed on February 28, 2019.
