Introduction
While there are many lawful matters in this incidence, the rescue services manager’s discharge based on his alleged neglect and the legality of this fire are the key items of concern. The soundness of this discharge can thus be founded on the legitimacy of the alleged negligence on the side of the entity fire service manager. If by any chance the negligence fails to be recognized in this case then the proof for discharge will be unacceptable and hence unlawful. To examine this case explicitly, I shall first examine the basis of the purported negligence to determine its liability. I shall then move on to discuss the matters surrounding the dismissal.
Analysis
In this case, the duty of care owed by the fire serviceman will be examined about the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, since it is legislative in form. In other words, services rendered by fire servicemen will be looked at from a legal standpoint as they aim at benefiting the whole public.
To ascertain the charge of negligence, I will first establish whether there was a duty of care or not. In case I find out that there was a duty of care, then the next step will be to determine the element that this duty was owed to. I will first consider this to enable me to define the breach.
The moment I conclude that a duty subsisted and was consequently infringed, inspection will revolve around the chain of causation and the query of remoteness (McBride and Bagshaw, 2008). In case the harm due to the infringement of the duty is so remote that it was not predictable at the occasion the alleged negligence happened, then accountability in negligence will lack.
As aforementioned, the fire and rescue manager owed a duty of care to the whole public. Since the time he was alerted about the fire by the proprietor of the factory, the fire service manager owed a duty to the whole community to guarantee that no damage or harm would be caused by the fire. As explained under section 38 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act, it was also his duty to make sure that adequate water was on hand for utilizing in extinguishing the fire (Great Britain, 2004). When the fire service manager arrived at the site, he carried out a full inspection in his duty to protect the proprietor of the factory and the whole public from any possible dangers of fire. By doing so, he evaded from breaching the statutory duty of care (Moran, 2007).
Considering this, the damage caused by the fire that he found when he was called for the second time could not be linked to his performance. However, the fact that he failed to identify a source of water to extinguish the fire broke the chain of causation by a Novus actus intervention (Baudoin and Linden, 2010). The Fire and Services Rescue Service Act explains that it is upon the fire services authority to provide water to extinguish fire either by entering into an agreement with a water undertaker or doing it individually. Going by this, there was a breach of care by the fire services authority (Great Britain, 2004). Since it is clear that this breach of care was predictable when negligence happened, then a prima facie claim exists against the involved fire service authority for breach of duty in the tort of negligence (Hattiangadi, 2007).
From the above discussion, it is clear that the fire service manager as an individual is not guilty. Instead, liability fell on the side of the fire service authority as a department. At the same time, there was no personal liability as the Fire and Rescue Services Act only contains provisions that address a collective breach of duties.
At this point, we can argue that as the fire services manager did not neglect his duties, his discharge was baseless and illegal.
To determine if or not the discharge of the fire service manager was just or unjust, the Employment Rights Act of 1996, mainly under section 98 offers statutory direction. The Employment Rights Act stipulates that a discharge will be just so long as it is grounded on either of these possible bases: the capability or qualifications of the employee for performing work of the kind which he was employed by the employer to do; the conduct of the employee; the fact that the employee is now redundant; or that the employee could not continue to work in the position which he held without contravention (either on his part or on that of his employer) of a duty or restriction imposed by or under an enactment (Great Britain, 1996).
Firstly, it is obvious that the fire service manager was not unskilled or missing the pertinent credentials that were essential for him to carry out his duties. Secondly, he was not redundant and there existed no legislative ratification that would stop the legitimate continuance of his place of service (McBride and Bagshaw, 2008). Thus, the conduct would have been the sole existing basis for a just dismissal in this case.
This case should have centered on whether or not the neglect to set up and keep water supplies as stipulated in section 38 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act was a result of the fire service manager’s behavior. In case this transpired to be the case, it should have been publicized that this duty, or direct management of this duty considering that he was a manager, was in the sphere of activity of his trained errands (Moran, 2007). Furthermore, there was no other person who could have been seen as liable for this breach. However, this could not be a favorable suggestion due to several explanations. To begin with, if it was favorable, the responsibility for the supply and sustenance of water amenities was the lone duty of the fire service manager, so the fire service authority should have been legally responsible for not controlling and supervising its tasks efficiently. Again, since this role was very significant, more than one individual must have been liable for warranting compliance.
From this perspective, this discharge appears to have been unjust. The fire services authority as a group owed the duty of care to sustain adequate water amenities, but not the fire service manager as an individual. The damage was a result of negligence by the authority, not the fire service manager. In addition, this discharge seems to have been carried out incorrectly.
Similarly, the Employment Rights Act stipulates that workers should be given notice that is calculated based on the duration that a certain employee has worked for an institution (Great Britain, 1996). However, the fire service manager, in this case, does not seem to have been given any notice period. He was also entitled to a document with written grounds for his discharge. For that reason then, it would have been important for the fire service manager to request a document explaining the reasons for his impromptu discharge.
As noted by Lunney and Oliphant (2008), the key objective of the fire service manager in this situation would be to guarantee that his repute as a fire service manager is restored to avoid difficulties in acquiring new employment. The gauge of compensation he could have anticipated would have been founded on all losses, including loss of income and losses related to the search for new employment, which he could have encountered after discharge (Scrope and Barnett, 2008).
However, there were some informal, managerial procedures that the fire service manager must have thought about before founding proceeds to issue against his previous boss. First, he could have argued that his former boss did not carry out any proper investigation on the matter, as he had just decided to fire him as the most blameworthy. If that was the case then, he would have talked with his boss and informed him that he was planning to challenge the legitimacy of his discharge in court. Most likely, it could have turned out that the boss would be ready to compensate him silently (Lunney and Oliphant, 2008). This decision would also have benefited both parties. For the fire service manager, he would have benefited in that he would receive compensation for his discharge, save time and money that could otherwise have been spent in following the claim in courts. At the same time, his record of employment would have been safeguarded. On the other hand, the employer would have saved money that he otherwise would have spent in defending the claim and at the same time. Also, he would have saved the reputation of his organization.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the fire and rescue manager owed a duty of care to the whole public. Since the time he was alerted about the fire by the proprietor of the factory, the fire service manager owed a duty to the whole community to guarantee that no damage or harm would be caused by the fire. However, the grounds for this dismissal were unjust. This is simply because the fire service manager as an individual was not liable as liability fell on the side of the fire service authority as a department. Also, the Fire Services Act only contains provisions that address a collective breach of duties, but not individual liabilities. Considering the Employment Rights Act, this act was also illegal. This is because workers should be given notice that is calculated based on the duration that a certain employee has worked for an institution (Great Britain, 1996). The fire service manager in this case was not given any notice period. Therefore, going by the reasons discussed in this essay, the verdict to discharge the fire service manager, in this case, was illegal and translates to a right to compensation.
References
Baudoin, Jean Louis and Linden, Allen (2010) Tort law in Canada. New York: Oxford University Press.
Great Britain (1996) Employment Rights Act 1996.London, HMSO.
Great Britain (2004) Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. London, HMSO.
Hattiangadi, Anandi (2007) Oughts and thoughts: rule- following and the normativity of content. London, Sage.
Lunney, Marl and Oliphant, Ken. (2008) Tort law: text and materials. New York, Oxford University Press.
McBride, NJ and Bagshaw, Clive (2008) Tort law. London, Pearson Education.
Moran, Jordan (ed) (2007) Employment law.. London, Prentice Hall.
Scrope, Henry and Barnett, Daniel (eds) (2008) Employment law handbook. London, Elsevier.