| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 204/06 |
| Hearing date | 29 May 2006 |
| Determination date | 15 June 2006 |
| Member | R Arthur |
| Representation | I Ali'imatafitafi (Applicant in person) ; M Richards, P Cornege |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Ali'imatafitafi v Chief Executive, Department of Corrections |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Applicant disputed earlier final warning for incident involving supervision of work party of detainees at a school - Final and binding mediated settlement reached and warning tenure reduced - After settlement applicant sent unauthorised letter and made unauthorised visit to school - Applicant claimed letter intended to clear name - Respondent believed letter and visit breached its code of conduct - Respondent conducted investigation - Investigation procedurally fair - Applicant's conduct failed to maintain neutrality of public servant - Applicant did not advise respondent of letter and visit despite issue being one involved in only as employee - Letter was demand for damages and threat of legal action - Respondent reasonably believed conduct reflected badly on it and jeopardised relationship with school - Established reasonable grounds for believing conduct breached code of conduct and was sufficiently grave to warrant dismissal - Breaches capable of amounting to serious misconduct - Authority agreed with submission standard for dismissal was test before present test of justification under s103A Employment Relations Act 2000 - Respondent satisfied either test - Dismissal justified - No disparity of treatment - RACIAL HARASSMENT - Applicant wrote letter to human resources manager and it was referred to another person for reply - Alleged respondent wrote critical letter to applicant - Letter fell well below language required under Employment Relations Act 2000 - No racial harassment - Length of service not specified - Work party supervisor |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s103A, ERA s114(6), ERA s149 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 204_06.pdf [pdf 47 KB] |