| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 86/01 |
| Determination date | 27 November 2001 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | N Chisnall ; C Wright |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Bingham v ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand) Limited |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Files with pornographic material discovered on applicant's computer - Policy that storage of pornographic material on work computers constituted serious misconduct - Fair notice of policy - Whether decision to dismiss was fair in the circumstances - Investigation seriously defective - Applicant explained he did not know of contents of file as picture viewer not functioning - Failed to test explanation - Reasonable to expect respondent to test explanation - Reasonable inquiry would have found and considered that other staff regularly accessed applicant's computer - Disparate treatment - Other employees offered opportunity to avoid dismissal by deleting any pornographic material from their computers - Applicant had deleted files in question before meeting - Decision to dismiss not one a fair and reasonable employer could have made - No contribution - Value resolution officer |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages (Actual loss of nearly three months to be calculated by parties) ; Loss of benefit (Quantum to be calculated by parties)(Superannuation) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($3,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Cases Cited | Airline Stewards and Hostesses of NZ IUOW v Air NZ Ltd [1990] 3 NZILR 584 ; [1990] 3 NZLR 549;Ark Aviation Ltd v Newton [2001] ERNZ 133;BP Oil NZ Ltd v Northern Distribution Union [1992] 3 ERNZ 483;Honda NZ Ltd v NZ Boilermakers' etc Union [1991] 1 NZLR 392;W & H Newspapers Ltd v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 ; [2001] 3 NZLR 29 |
| Number of Pages | 15 |
| PDF File Link: | PDF file not available for download, please contact us to request a copy. |