A postman who was sacked by Royal Mail after falling over twice at work because he wasn't looking where he was going has lost an unfair dismissal claim.
Paul Duffy fractured his shoulder after tripping on a path and just three months later, he broke his knee after slipping on a sledge in a driveway while reading his mail.
The postman, who had worked for Royal Mail for nearly 20 years, alleged that he did not see the sledge as it was hidden under a blanket of snow, but the homeowner claimed it was perfectly visible.
The homeowner also told his bosses that they saw him reading his mail and claimed he was not watching where he was going before he fell, a Newcastle tribunal heard.
His bosses ruled he was 'distracted because he was reading whilst walking' in both incidents and sacked him for dishonesty and 'disregard to health and safety' in March.
Mr Duffy filed a claim of unfair dismissal but Employment Judge John Morris ruled the decision to sack him was fair and dismissed his claim.
Paul Duffy fractured his shoulder after tripping on a path and just three months later, he broke his knee after slipping on a sledge in a driveway while reading his mail (stock image)
The tribunal heard Mr Duffy was handed a two-year suspended dismissal - a form of final written warning - in 2019 after he submitted fraudulent overtime claims.
This meant any future misconduct could lead to his dismissal.
In October last year, Mr Duffy was working from a delivery office in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, when he entered the driveway of a property to which he was delivering mail.
He tripped on the edge of the pathway and fell, leading to him being placed on sick leave after he fractured his shoulder.
The tribunal heard he would carry out light work from the office but no action was taken against him following this incident.
But in January, Mr Duffy suffered another fall, telling his bosses that he had delivered mail to a property when he stood on a sledge as he left the house, which caused him to fall.
The injury report noted: 'The conditions were icy as it had been snowing, the drive had small patches of compact snow on it although the paving below was clearly visible.
'For whatever reason Mr Duffy
