An entrepreneur who set up Britain’s first commercial electric car charging stations in London is suing BP Chargemaster, the firm he sold his business to, for unfair dismissal which resulted in a loss of share options. 

Calvey Taylor-Haw claims the dismissal saw him lose a bonus package of over £1 million of share options in the company.

Taylor-Haw is described by his legal representative, Fox Williams, as a “pioneer in the electric vehicle sector”. He founded his first charging company, Elektromotive, in 2003.

In 2005, it launched London’s first commercial charging points. Growth in other areas of the UK saw it become Britain’s largest EV network.

This business (and a subsidiary, Charge Your Car) was sold in January 2017 to Chargemaster, for which Taylor-Haw received share options.

Chargemaster was then sold to BP in June 2018 for £120 million – and the unfair dismissal claim alleges Taylor-Haw’s position was “immediately” undermined by the management team.

The legal case outlines how Taylor-Haw was asked to develop new business areas for BP Chargemaster, from which he was made redundant five months later.

“During his redundancy he was repeatedly told he would be allowed to keep his share options.  When the business was sold to BP, he discovered his share options had been taken away.”

The employment tribunal hearing will take place on 28-29 August 2019.

Jane Mann, a Partner at Fox Williams, a leading employment lawyer said: “We will be arguing for Calvey Taylor-Haw that there is clear evidence that he was unfairly dismissed and wrongfully deprived of his share options. 

“His position was undermined and there was no proper consultation during his redundancy.”

BP Chargemaster declined to comment. 

A poll has revealed that over 70 percent of motorists want vaping while driving to be banned. A total of 350 people took part in the survey on an independent car retailer’s website. At present there is nothing to stop drivers vaping behind the wheel, nor is it illegal to smoke and drive.

However, the Children and Families Act of 2015 made it illegal to smoke in a car with children in it, for both the driver or any other adults. The driver is also at fault for not preventing other occupants from smoking with children in the car.

• 75 percent of our EU traffic prosecutions are from France

• 75 percent of our EU traffic prosecutions are from France

Similarly, smoking, along with vaping, comes under a list of things that can be considered distractions while driving. At an observing officer’s discretion, smoking or vaping can be considered distractions linked to driving without due care and attention. They join loud music, eating and drinking, and arguing with passengers or other road users on the list of distractions. 

Driving without due care and attention can land you with a hefty fine. What’s more, a vape could be considered an electronic device. The former offence with the addition of an electronic vape could cost you up to £2,500, land you with penalty points or, at worst, disqualification.

Would a ban on vaping while driving create a slippery slope? Would (or should) a ban on smoking, eating or drinking while driving follow shortly thereafter? It’s an interesting question…

• Loophole in mobile phone law to be closed

• Drivers face hands-free mobile phone ban

“While there are no laws banning vaping in this country, considering the sheer volume of traffic on our roads it is paramount that we are all in control of our cars at all times,” said Mark Carpenter, CEO of Motorpoint. 

“Which is why, just like mobiles, we’re seeing a growing call from all sides for all hand-held devices that could potentially be used behind the wheel to be banned from our roads.”