| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 61/04 |
| Hearing date | 18 Mar 2004 |
| Determination date | 27 May 2004 |
| Member | P Cheyne |
| Representation | P McBride ; G Blair |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Jones v Pacifica Shipping (1985) Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Near miss with other vessel while applicant went to toilet leaving bridge unmanned - Saw vessel moving away when returned to bridge and took evasive action - Made ship's log entry about incident but did not report to management as required - CEO of respondent received phone call from skipper of other vessel involved - Investigation into incident - Previous incident where respondent prosecuted by Maritime Safety Authority provided background to decision to dismiss - Meetings and discussions between parties resulted in dismissal - Respondent obliged to comply with disciplinary procedures in code of conduct - Procedurally unfair - No disparity of treatment - Respondent gave weight of formal warning to earlier incident which did not constitute formal warning - Not established that brief delay in reporting incident to MSA constituted serious legal jeopardy - Unjustified dismissal - Remedies - Dismissal of ships master likely to have become known throughout industry - Applicant unable to secure other position of equal standing - Contributory conduct 50 percent - Ships master |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages (Quantum to be determined by parties)(3 months) ; Reimbursement of lost benefits (Quantum to be determined by parties)(3 months) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($12,000 reduced to $6,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | Maritime Transport Act 1994 s31 |
| Cases Cited | NZ Timber Industry Employees' IUOW v TD Haulage Ltd [1985] ACJ 121;W&H Newspapers Ltd v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 |
| Number of Pages | 9 |
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