A SOLDIER who fought the Taliban is now taking on one of the North-East’s bestknown companies after he was made redundant just days after returning from Afghanistan.

Simon Sunderland, an infantryman in the Territorial Army, was told byDarlington engineering firm Cummins that his services were no longer required as he neared the end of a 12-month tour of duty.

Cummins insists that Mr Sunderland, of Linden Grove, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, was one of more than 400 people to lose their jobs due to the recession, and he had not been singled out.

But yesterday, Mr Sunderland took the company to an industrial tribunal, claiming it was in breach of legislation aimed at protecting workers called up to serve with the Territorials.

In a case which could have national significance, a reinstatement committee at the Employment Tribunals Office in Newcastle heard how the production operative was applying to be reinstated and compensated for loss of earnings, citing the Reserve Forces Act of 1985, which is designed to protect part-time soldiers.

Speaking after the hearing, at which a judgement was reserved to a later date, Mr Sunderland said he felt reservists such as himself were not valued as much as they should be.

“At the end of the day, going into the TA is something that not many people are willing or able to do for one reason or another,”

he said. “You are doing the same job as a regular soldier.

When you see Remembrance parades in towns and cities all over the country, a lot of those people are TA soldiers.

They have medals on their chest the same as the regulars wear.

“I have been to Iraq and Afghanistan and have done the same job as a regular soldier.

I have two medals for completing two tours of duty, not for going to the shops. It’s hard graft and your life is on the line the same as a regular soldier. I don’t think the military get the respect they deserve and I don’t think the TA and reserve forces get the respect they deserve.”

Barrister Andrew Sugarman, for Mr Sunderland, told the hearing: “The whole purpose of the (Reserve Forces) Act is the protection of the employment of those carrying out military service on behalf of their country.”

He accused Cummins of fundamentally misunderstanding the statute and said, consequently, it was obligated to reinstate Mr Sunderland.

The hearing was told though the father-of-four joined Cummins in 2004, some people in his department with less service had been kept on because they scored higher in an overall assessment.

Human resources manager Jacquie Smith said: “Mr Sunderland started his service in May 2008 and shortly afterwards we started to feel the impact of the economic downturn.

“We felt the effects very early on in the financial crisis.

“Our customers started to cancel large volumes of orders and we reduced our workforce by half, with 440 employees being made redundant.”

But Mr Sugarman argued Mr Sunderland’s selection for redundancy was unfair.

Refuting this, Mrs Smith said Cummins had acted in line with the legislation.

“We took advice and followed it,” she said.

During evidence, Mr Sunderland said he felt the fact he was in the Army had made Cummins’ decision simpler.

“I was an easy target because I had been away,” he said.

But in cross-examination, Andrew Parascandolo, representing Cummins, accused Mr Sunderland of having no intention of returning to work for the company as he had been looking for other work while in the war zone.

The atmosphere became tense when Mr Parascandolo suggested Mr Sunderland had not gone through the correct procedures in reapplying for his job, adding: “We appreciate what you went through in Afghanistan and we respect that.”

To which Mr Sunderland replied: “You haven’t got a clue what I went through in Afghanistan.”

Committee chairman Peter Rennie said a decision on the case would be announced at a later date.