Arundel railway worker sacked after 44 years over break entitlement dispute

Protesters at Arundel Station against Peter Lee's (third from right) dismissal SUS-180716-122945001

A long-serving railway signalman said his life has been '˜completely shattered' after being sacked in a dispute about rest breaks.

Sixty-year-old Peter Lee, from Nimbus Close in Littlehampton, had worked at Arundel Station for 44 years but was dismissed in May for gross misconduct.

“They have taken everything from me,” he said.

“I started here as a box boy when I was 16 – it’s my whole life, and it’s completely shattered.

“I have given them everything and they have just cut it off for want of a rest break.”

The Working Time Regulations Act 1998 states anyone working more than six hours at a time is entitled to a 20-minute rest break.

On Monday, January 8, Mr Lee said he arrived at work to be told his break that Thursday was cancelled as there would be no-one to cover for him.

He said he informed his manager he would still take the break, insisting it was his legal right, and warned surrounding stations to not send any trains through.

“I never got the chance to close the signal box as the managers approached me to suspend me before I could,” said Mr Lee.

“I would never put anyone travelling or working on the railway in any danger.”

He was suspended with full pay until May 18, when he was dismissed.