An AA driver who lost his job after making an "incredibly inappropriate" joke has won a £25k discrimination payout.
Adrian Lloyd-Penny, who is autistic, made the comment when he thought two of his bosses had made a mistake.
Mr Lloyd-Penny said during a phone call that he was going to drop night manager Lyndon Tyler and dispatcher Dave Boddison "on their heads."
Despite the fact that later in the day he apologised to his colleagues and said he was "clearly joking", he was sacked as managers found his comments "incredibly inappropriate."
He has now picked up £24,111 after suing the AA for disability discrimination.
The tribunal, held in Watford, heard Mr Lloyd-Penny joined the AA in March 2023 and worked at the Enfield Depot in north London.
In August of that year, the vehicle recovery patrol driver became irritated over a perceived error made by Mr Tyler and Mr Boddison.
In a telephone call, he told a handler: "Aaahh, I hope to God I never meet the manager that I was dealing with or the dispatcher that gave me this job, cos I’ll drop them from a third storey bloody window, the pair of them on their heads."
Mr Lloyd-Penny was working as an AA driver when he made the comment (file pic)
|GETTY
The tribunal heard how a transcript of the call was forwarded by Mr Tyler, adding that Mr Lloyd-Penny was occasionally "argumentative and unreasonable" on the phone.
However, he added: "Please note myself or my dispatcher take no offence, and he was clearly joking."
The driver was invited to a probation review meeting later that same month with his manager Michael Townsend, reports The Telegraph.
At the meeting, Mr Lloyd-Penny was dismissed because "no one should be coming into work at risk of being shouted and sworn at."
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Mr Lloyd-Penny was asked during the meeting whether he had ever been "aggressive" towards members of staff.
He responded saying Mr Tyler and Mr Boddison had "flared up" his autism.
The tribunal concluded "the dismissal was, at least in part, because of something arising in consequence of the claimant’s disability, namely the contents of the phone call."
Employment Judge Patrick Quill said: “We accept that any responsible employer would wish to take action following, rather than ignore, such comments."
The panel upheld Mr Lloyd-Penny’s claims of disability discrimination, saying the manager should have investigated more options for addressing his behaviour as a result of his autism.
According to the panel Mr Townsend’s dismissal decision was "based on the fact that, because of [Mr Lloyd-Penny’s] autism.
"There was a future risk of [him] raising his voice and/or being angry and/or being aggressive to other colleagues or other customers in the future."
While the panel ruled the employers should have reviewed further options than dismissal, other claims made by Mr Lloyd-Penny were thrown out.