Email or username:

Password:

Forgot your password?
Gareth Dennis

In May this year, Peter Hendy pressured my now-former employer Systra to sack me by threatening them.

Why did he do this? Because I'd highlighted safety and accessibility issues at Euston station. He is unfit for office and should resign.
politico.eu/article/uk-rail-mi

29 comments | Expand all CWs
Gareth Dennis

What Hendy has done is misconduct in a public office. Worse, it shows what his attitude is towards people who advocate for the railway but want to fix it rather than clap for it.

If the railway's supposedly open safety culture stands for anything, his position is untenable.

Gareth Dennis

It should go without saying that his conduct also precludes his fitness to chair the National Railway Museum's Advisory Board.

Gareth Dennis

Meanwhile, I expect a full and public apology from Network Rail and from Systra.

Alongside Peter Hendy, they've wrongfully denied me a job I was extremely proud to have earned, and made the last three months of my life hell. They must now make that right, publicly.

James Jefferies

@GarethDennis bloody hell - don’t keep up so much with you since dumping twitter, but what a scandal - let us know if there are ways in which we can support you.

Thermite Be Giants

@jamesjefferies @GarethDennis if you have visited, donated to or even considered visiting the National Railway Museum in York or other members of the Science Museum Group such as Locomotion Shildon then you have power, especially if you are yourself a member of a professional organisation with a code of ethics that you are required to uphold and adhere to that has provisions about retaliation.
You can write them a strongly-worded letter about your concerns about his ethics, and how that reflects on their organisation that Peter Hendy is the Chair of the National Railway Museum’s Advisory Board. I’ll be posting up what I’ll be sending to them at some stage soon

@jamesjefferies @GarethDennis if you have visited, donated to or even considered visiting the National Railway Museum in York or other members of the Science Museum Group such as Locomotion Shildon then you have power, especially if you are yourself a member of a professional organisation with a code of ethics that you are required to uphold and adhere to that has provisions about retaliation.
You can write them a strongly-worded letter about your concerns about his ethics, and how that reflects...

Matt

@ThermiteBeGiants @jamesjefferies @GarethDennis I might write to them as an outraged rail professional. After all, it's a pretty outrageous story.

Thermite Be Giants

@matt @jamesjefferies @GarethDennis might be worth talking to the Union as well, I’m sure they have something to say about retaliation against railway workers over safety issues!

Zach (Ela) - TechnicalOtter

@jamesjefferies @GarethDennis probably the best thing is to write to your MP if you’re in the UK (which I’m guessing you are from your instance).
You can express a concern in Hendy’s position that way.

Q ✨

@GarethDennis How awful - absolutely scandalous!

I have written to my MP about this.

Jfrench

@GarethDennis just curious, do you know how the safety concerns were supposedly "put to bed" in December?

That phrase sounds decidedly like weasel wording. Like they didn't actually resolve the safety issue itself, but stopped it being flagged somehow.

Lazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈

@jfrench @GarethDennis the 'safety issue' was this man's professionalism, they got him sacked so now the problem as been 'put to bed'

How corrupt is the UK I wonder?

Ban El Al from our skies

@GarethDennis Perhaps - but did the person raise the concern with Network Rail before going to the papars?

Jfrench

@JohnLoader6 @GarethDennis they were just reiterating a concern the regulators had already raised.

Network rail say the concerns were "put to bed" in-between so were no longer relevant, however they don't actually say they did anything toresolve them.

Schroedinger

@GarethDennis Misconduct definitely. I agree that he needs to go. If he cannot take safety issues seriously (i.e. act on them, not silence them) then he should not have any role in a safety-critical environment.

Linza

@GarethDennis Systra's decision-maker can make the long hike with the minister, preferably off a short pier. A short pier with no handrails or signage alerting them to how short it is, or about the sharks.

Bread80

@GarethDennis If I’m not mistaken sacking an employee for whistle blowing counts as unfair dismissal. I hope you’re talking to a lawyer.

Alastair Temple

@bread80 @GarethDennis technically not whistle blowing as it was information already in the public domain, and it turns out that unfair dismissal (which it would have been regardless) only counts in the UK after 2 years of employment. Yay UK employment law.

David Rickard

@GarethDennis I just read about this, utterly shocking, they've just fully Streisanded themselves in the process.

Evelyn 🐉

@GarethDennis It's a fucking disgrace how they've treated you, and it's something that makes me worry that bit more about safety culture at Network Rail.

DysguFi :baner:

@GarethDennis Gareth, I think whistleblowing is within the category of automatic unfair dismissal and does not therefore require the two year qualifying period (counts from day one in the job) see - acas.org.uk/whistleblowing-at-

The Old Manse

@AngleseyStick @GarethDennis maybe financial services is a special case as it's heavily regulated, but there we were told that to be protected legally as a whistleblower you had to go through specific procedures. It's not enough to simply blow the whistle in the press. The company I worked for contracted a third party to manage the procedure so as to help ensure anonymity etc and the contact details were advertised all over the building.

The Old Manse

@AngleseyStick @GarethDennis which is not to suggest that I don't agree that the rail company's behaviour was disgraceful.

Cal Alaera

@GarethDennis IANAL but that sounds like a textbook unfair dismissal to me.

3dcandy

@GarethDennis nice to see my namesake being a bully too

Scott Wilson

@GarethDennis This is outrageous. You have my solidarity. ✊

Jim Stanton

@GarethDennis I remember the last government was keen that organisations toe the official line and keep awkward questions or opinions to themselves if they wanted any public work, so that bit isn’t shocking. But I am surprised that Lord Hendy was so wounded by accusations that Euston is unsuitable (😮) that he personally intervened to follow this up multiple times.

Tim Stickland

@GarethDennis
I've emailed my MP.
Next is NRM.
Hope you've picked up a decent lawyer.
Good luck - and thanks.

NotArt

@GarethDennis Peter Hendy mailing photos of Euston circled with gold sharpie and captioned "see, not so busy!"

Go Up