A bus driver who worked for the same company for 34 years has been sacked for being "too short", she is claiming. Tracey Scholes, who is five feet tall, says she was one of few women in the job when she started driving buses in Greater Manchester, and she remained at the depot with First Bus and then Go North West, when they took over in 2019.

The move came after wing mirrors on the buses Scholes drove were repositioned, which meant she was too short to use them at the same time as reaching the pedals. When she tried to drive these buses, she’d have to lean around a pillar on the cab assault screen to see the mirror, meaning her feet lifted off the pedals. Scholes brought this to management’s attention and bosses assigned her routes driving single and double-deckers with the old-style mirrors, she claims.

However, she was most recently assigned the 93 route from Shudehill to Prestwich, and says she would increasingly arrive on shift to find the tricky wing mirrors. She said:

“It’s one of the most important pieces of equipment on the bus. You need it to turn a corner or pull into a bus stop. When you turn you need to watch that mirror to see the angles on the back wheel so you don’t clip a curb.”

Union Unite claims Scholes was told she no longer had the "capability" to safely drive the buses and as a reasonable adjustment was offered an alternative role at the company, but for less hours and pay.

What is reasonable for one employee or workplace may not be the same as another. It will depend on the individual circumstances. Factors that need to be considered include:

• The size of the employer – a large organisation may have greater means.
• Whether the adjustment is practical to make.
• Whether the disadvantage noted in the workplace would be successfully overcome by the adjustment.
• How the adjustment could affect other workers, for example their health and safety.

Scholes, 57, declined the offer and was given 12 weeks' notice, a decision she is now appealing. She added:

"I’m flabbergasted that they can just get rid of me after 34 years. I love my job; I don’t want to lose it. I have regular customers and a regular route."

Scholes’ colleagues have started a petition which now has more than 1,700 signatures. A Unite spokesman said:

“Tracey is a hardworking, loved and a valued member of the NW/5/4 Branch and the Queens Road family who deserves to be commended for her years of service to the traveling public of Greater Manchester. However, Go North West Ltd has dismissed her from employment because they changed the manufacturer specification on their fleet of buses resulting in five-foot-tall Tracey being physically unable to operate company vehicles safely.

“Go North West Ltd have refused to consider proposals from Tracey and her Unite trade union reps to keep her in employment. This has resulted in her unfair dismissal from Go North West Ltd for capability to fulfil her role as a PCV driver. The company’s only resolution is to offer Tracey a position in the company that would see Tracey’s pay and hours cut significantly leaving her in financial hardship."