Cumbria Firefighter sacked following a holiday was fairly dismissed

That was the conclusion of a two-day employment tribunal in the city.

In a written judgement, employment tribunal judge Paul Humble ruled that Cumbria Fire & Rescue Services bosses acted reasonably when they sacked veteran firefighter Anthony Bell.

The judgement outlines some of the key facts of the case, including how Mr Bell, who began his career with the Fire Service in 1987, had in 2015 been given a final written warning for reporting for duty under the influence of illegal drugs.

The judgement does not say what the drug was but Judge Humble says that at the time of the sick leave dispute the final warning he had received was still in force.

In July, 2016, according to the judgement, a station manager was sent an anonymous note, saying that Mr Bell had been unable to get holiday approved for Friday, July 1, and as a result he booked the day as sick leave.

The note said he had done this so that he could go on a biking holiday abroad with other fire service personnel.

On July 15, the manager met Mr Bell, told him about the anonymous note, and asked him whether he had taken sick leave on July 1 and 2 because he could not get the time off as holiday.

"The claimant denied that he had taken sick leave for those reasons and said he had suffered from a bad back and muscle spasm caused by lifting floorboards at home on the morning of Friday, July 1, and so was required to call in sick," said Judge Humble's judgement.

Mr Bell went on holiday on Saturday, July 2, at 8am but the night shift he was due to work the previous day was not due to finish until 9am on July 2, the tribunal heard.

Mr Bell said he had arranged cover with a fellow firefighter to cover the hour that he would not have been able to work.

But he had not booked in that cover through the service's paperwork system for making such arrangements because the arrangement had been made verbally.

Because the claimant called in sick, as he made his way to a pre-planned mountain bike race in Southern France, his shift had to be covered by a manager at short notice.

Mr Bell said he was not told that a firefighter he thought could stand in for him had already accepted an overtime shift at another station.

The judgement states: "The claimant confirmed that he proceeded with his holiday despite reporting a back injury and he was asked whether he had mountain biked while on holiday.

"He answered that he had not initially mountain biked, and said: "We were away for a week and I did nothing for the first three days.

"I spent two days in the sauna and pool and on Tuesday I got gingerly on the bike after my muscles had eased somewhat. It was not until Wednesday afternoon that I could ride properly."

Me Bell said he was legitimately singed off sick and it was management's responsibility to put the proper cover in place.

Judge Humble states: "The problem with this defence was that it missed the essential point that the main allegation against the claimant which was that he was aware he was due to be absent on holiday but took no proper steps to arrange cover and instead called in sick."

Giving his judgment in favour of the Fire Service, Mr Humble added: "The claimant had 30 years of good service and he was well regarded by management and colleagues.

"In 2015, he made a serious mistake, which he admitted and for which he was issued a final warning.

"Therefore as a senior fire fighter it would be expected that the claimant would have been extra careful to ensure there were no further incidents of misconduct which might jeopardise his future employment."

The judge said the main explanation Mr Bell had relied on for not booking holiday cover before July 1 was that it was difficult to get time off at short notice so he left it as late as possible so that managers would not come back to him with an "unjustified refusal".

Essentially, he was playing the system, concludes the judge and even if his sick leave was genuine, it did not occur to him that managers may have had a justified reason for refusing leave.

An internal fire service hearing heard evidence from a colleague of Mr Bell, who said that he was was not his normally fit self and not walking well when he booked time off sick. That internal hearing did not uphold the allegation that Mr Bell falsely reported himself unfit for work between July 1 and 3, 2016. Mr Bell worked with Green watch at the Carlisle West fire station.