| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 200/04 |
| Hearing date | 4 Jun 2004 |
| Determination date | 29 July 2004 |
| Member | V Campbell |
| Representation | K Andersen ; P Swarbrick |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | King v Nick Letica Building Supplies Ltd t/a Placemakers Cook Street |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Employment agreement provided for immediate dismissal for serious misconduct - Serious misconduct included unauthorised removal of respondent's property - Respondent's policy that no timber to leave yard without proper documentation - Exception that staff entitled to take scrap timber for firewood without documentation - Applicant arranged for sleepers he thought were scrap timber to be removed from yard by another company's employee without documentation - Unable to locate operations manager to ask if price needed to paid for sleepers - Summarily dismissed at investigation meeting - Applicant aware of need for documentation - Dismissal substantively justified - Disparity - Alleged disparity with way other company's employee dealt with - No analogy could be drawn between two distinct employers dealing with separate issues - Not informed prior to investigation meeting that dismissal possibility - Dismissal procedurally unjustified - Remedies - Significant contribution to actions giving rise to dismissal - Employment record demonstrated applicant did not always adhere to respondent's policy - Contributory conduct 100 per cent - COSTS - Applicant entitled to contribution to costs - Costs reserved - Timber yard salesperson |
| Result | Application granted ; Costs reserved |
| Cases Cited | Morris v Christchurch International Airport Ltd unreported, Goddard CJ, 24 June 2004, CC 13/04;NZ Food Processing IOUW v Unilever NZ Ltd [1990] 1 NZILR 35;Petersen v Board of Trustees Of Buller High School [2002] 1 ERNZ 139;W&H Newspapers Ltd v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 |
| Number of Pages | 10 |
| PDF File Link: | PDF file not available for download, please contact us to request a copy. |