| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 148/04 |
| Hearing date | 21 Oct 2004 - 1 Nov 2004 (4 days) |
| Determination date | 03 November 2004 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | P Drummond ; C Chauvel & E Watson |
| Location | Palmerston North |
| Parties | Hotop v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Inmate found dead in cell while applicant was on-call manager - Inmate on 30 minute observations but according to policy and procedure manual should have been on 15 minute observations - Applicant summarily dismissed - Respondent found applicant committed negligence or unsafe practice which seriously affected safety of members of public in workplace - Relevant actions were endorsing inmate's management plan, not advising site manager of medical escort of inmate, not making himself aware of inmate's risk and not carrying out on-call manager's responsibilities to standard expected - Extension of member of public" to include inmate arguably outside definition - Applicant met all express requirements of on-call manager as set out in manuals - Other staff failed to meet express requirements and convey information to applicant - No reasonable cause for applicant to question information staff reported - No misconduct - Performance evaluated by unreasonable and subjective standards not communicated to applicant - Dismissal unjustified - Serious disparity of treatment between applicant and other corrections officers involved - Remedies - Respondent could not sustain claim of lack of confidence in applicant - Reinstatement ordered - Publication of details of inmate's death prohibited - Prison Unit Manager" |
| Result | Application granted ; Reinstatement ordered ; Reimbursement of lost wages (Quantum to be determined by parties)(3 months 12 days) ; Compensation for humiliation, etc ($15,000) ; Non-publication order ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | Coroners Act 1988 s29;Coroners Act 1988 s43(3);ERA s125;ERA Second Schedule cl10(2) |
| Cases Cited | Airline Stewards and Hostesses of NZ IUOW v Air NZ Ltd [1981] ACJ 345;Airline Stewards and Hostesses of NZ IUOW v Air NZ Ltd [1985] ACJ 952 ; (1985) ERNZ Sel Cas 156;Airline Stewards and Hostesses of NZ IUOW v Air NZ Ltd [1990] 3 NZILR 584 ; [1990] 3 NZLR 549; (1990) ERNZ Sel Cas 985;Chief Executive of the Ministry of Maori Development v Travers-Jones [2003] 1 ERNZ 174;Click Clack International Ltd v James [1994] 1 ERNZ 15;Samu v Air New Zealand [1995] 1 ERNZ 636;W&H Newspapers Ltd v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 |
| Number of Pages | 20 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 148_04.pdf [pdf 1009 KB] |