Construction worker Mick Dooley found to have been fairly excluded from employment

An employment tribunal launched by a worker against Balfour Beatty over claims the firm used a blacklist to deny him work, has found in favour of the company.

Construction worker Mick Dooley had taken Balfour Beatty to an employment tribunal claiming that he was denied work due to his name being on a blacklist, which Balfour Beatty was alleged to have used.

Witnesses said Balfour Beatty used the blacklist in its defence, arguing that the information on the file was justification for dismissing Dooley in the early nineties.

Judge Mr B T Charlton described the blacklist as “ghastly”. But the decision is understood to have been based on Dooley's employee status, as only employees were covered by legislation, and he was not an employee of the company.

Commenting on the case, the Blacklisting Support group said: "The Dooley decision and the new Blacklisting Regulations are basically a get out of jail free card for the major contractors. The blacklisters can hide behind the fact that they sub-contract most of the labour on major projects to escape any kind of legal responsibility.

“If our human rights cannot be upheld in the UK courts or from UK Regulations, then we will be taking our claims to the European Court of Human Rights. We have suffered for many years: we are prepared to fight all the way."

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