Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Auckland
Reference No AA 195/02
Hearing date 15 May 2002
Determination date 02 July 2002
Member K J Anderson
Representation D Law ; B Rooney
Location Auckland
Parties Lal v Applied Instruments Group Ltd
Summary UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Constructive dismissal - Serious misconduct - Notified by bank of suspicious transfers of money - Applicant requested to attend meeting at short notice - Panicked at meeting and offered to repay money - Requested to hand in office keys - Required to return company property - Either constructive or summary dismissal - Ideally applicant should have been suspended pending further investigation - Sufficient evidence without further investigation to honestly believe applicant guilty of misconduct - Dismissal justified - Alternatively applicant's contribution would have disentitled him to any remedy - Evidence of misconduct discovered post-dismissal relevant to remedies - ARREARS OF WAGES AND HOLIDAY PAY - Holiday pay due and owing - Bonus payments of $739.94 due and owing - Pay sheets falsified by applicant to obtain travel payments of $1,300 - Repayment of travel payments set off against bonus payments - Applicant ordered to repay $560.06 - DISPUTE - Applicant ordered to return all company property in his possession - Accountant
Result Application granted in part ; Arrears of wages ($739.94 set off against travel payments) ; Arrears of holiday pay ($1,094.43) ; Orders accordingly
Statutes ERA s4(1);ERA s137;ERA s157(2)(a);ERA s157(3);ERA s160(3);ERA s161(a);ERA s161(b);Holidays Act 1981 s12
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 ; [2002] 2 NZLR 145;Porter v The Board of Trustees of Westlake Girls' High School [1998] 1 ERNZ 377;Wellington etc Clerical Workers' Union v Greenwich [1983] ACJ 965
Number of Pages 15
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