| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 146/05 |
| Hearing date | 25 Jul 2005 |
| Determination date | 05 September 2005 |
| Member | G J Wood |
| Representation | L Strachan, R Moodie ; S Dalzell |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Wyllie v The Wellington Free Ambulance Service Inc |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Serious misconduct – Summary dismissal - Applicant fell asleep for more than 1 hour on a shift for an extended period, when responsible for respondent’s communications centre – Applicant pulled up a Laz-e-Boy chair to the consul she was responsible for, put her headphones on and went to sleep – Had declined an offer to go off site for a sleep - Allegations from other staff members that applicant had consumed a lot of alcohol the night before which applicant denied – Applicant argued other staff should have woken her – Also argued that she was not able to take her contracted breaks – A fair and reasonable employer would only investigate matters that were in fact raised with it by an employee at a disciplinary meeting – The applicant’s heart condition was not raised as an explanation so respondent not required to consider that - Disparity of treatment issues not raised by applicant during investigation, but in any event was no disparity – No pre-determination – What a fair and reasonable employer would do in any particular circumstances must be grounded in the business of that employer - Given explanations proffered at the time, a fair and reasonable employer would most likely have concluded that applicant fell asleep because she had had insufficient sleep the night before because she went out drinking – Fair process – Dismissal was what a fair and reasonable employer would have done in these circumstances – Claim dismissed - Team leader |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Cases Cited | NZFP Pulp and Paper Co Ltd v Horn [1996] 1 ERNZ 278 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 146_05.pdf [pdf 31 KB] |