The boss of a £1 million-a-year Coventry refuse business who sacked his nephew will not have to pay him compensation, a tribunal has ruled.

Anthony Lakin – nephew of Kevin Kennell, boss of family-run firm Budget Skips Services – won his case for unfair dismissal at Birmingham employment tribunal on a technicality, because the firm had failed to carry out the proper dismissal procedure.

But tribunal judge Peter Rose QC said that because Mr Lakin had contributed ‘100 per cent’ to his own dismissal no compensation award would be made.

Mr Lakin had made compensation claims against the firm for unfair dismissal and notice and holiday pay after being employed from 2009 to January this year.

Mr Lakin was said to be a nephew of Kevin Kennell, who runs Budget with the help of his two daughters. The firm turns over £1 million a year.

The company deals with two forms of refuse – some of it for recycling and the rest for depositing on land fill sites.

Part of Mr Lakin’s job was to separate the refuse for recycling from the rest, it was said

But Mr Kennell discovered his nephew and another employee were not doing the sorting job properly and both were sacked.

Mr Lakin was suspended before his dismissal for gross misconduct.

Mr Lakin was said to have had a “chequered history” at the firm and the sorting dispute was described as the final straw.

The tribunal was told that each man blamed each other for not sorting out the refuse.

Mr Rose said the firm had failed to carry out correct procedure in dismissing Mr Lakin, however, and because of this ruled he had been unfairly dismissed.

But because he had contributed 100 per cent to his dismissal no compensation award would be made for any of the three compensation claims.