| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 113/07 |
| Hearing date | 17 Jul 2007 |
| Determination date | 17 August 2007 |
| Member | G J Wood |
| Representation | G Ogilvie ; C Matsis |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Martin v Lifeboat Investments Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Serious misconduct – Respondent argued applicant justifiably dismissed because failed to account for respondent’s property – Respondent’s owner (“R”) discovered stock, account and cash irregularities – R suspected R’s sister, who then resigned – Another employee informed R that applicant responsible – R and business associates at tavern socially when applicant on duty – Applicant impolite to R and guests – R approached applicant to discuss theft – R summarily dismissed applicant – R conceded overreacted to applicant’s behaviour at time, but argued real reason for dismissal was theft – Police charged applicant but withdrew charges before investigation meeting - Authority noted serious allegations require more convincing proof - Authority concluded on balance of probabilities that insufficient evidence to find applicant culpable of allegations – Respondent did not act as fair and reasonable employer would act when pursuing genuine concerns about missing stock and money - Authority found absolute failure to apply any disciplinary process – Unjustifiably dismissed – Remedies – No contributory conduct shown, as no proven misconduct – Behaviour on night warranted strong reprimand and counselling, but behaviour not reason for dismissal – Applicant found alternative employment three weeks after dismissal – Reimbursement of three weeks lost wages ordered – Compensation appropriate as applicant in shock and found difficult to put matter behind her – Applicant claimed costs incurred in defending criminal charges – Authority found costs not recoverable as resulted from Police decision to charge applicant, not result of personal grievance – Tavern Duty Manager |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($1,800) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($4,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967;ERA s103A |
| Cases Cited | Kostic v Dodd & Milligan t/a Allan Milligan Cars and/or Motorworld Systems Ltd unreported, Couch J, 11 July 2007, CC 14/07;NZ (with exceptions) Food Processing etc IUOW v Unilever NZ Inc [1990] 1 NZILR 35;X v Auckland District Health Board [2007] ERNZ 66 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 113_07.pdf [pdf 33 KB] |