Theft by employee good reason to sack…

That may sound very obvious and it is good to see that the Employments Relations Authority upheld the dismissal. The case is notable for several points made by the ERA.

The employee was caught on camera taking money from her place of employment, confronted by the boss and shown the footage. She confessed to the thefts and was told to hand in her keys and leave. In normal circumstance there were serious failures to follow a correct process. There was no advance notice of a disciplinary process, no advice of the right to a support person, no warning of possible outcomes, no advance notice of the allegations and no opportunity to prepare an answer to the allegations.

The ERA held that the thefts were such a serious breach of trust that the dismissal was justified despite the poor process and that even if the dismissal had been unjustified the employee was 100% responsible and would not be entitled to any remedies.

Good to see the ERA taking a tough line when faced with such bad employee behaviour but employers should still ensure that their disciplinary processes are fair. If you need assistance then call me for a free initial chat on 0800 733 400 or see my guide to the disciplinary process at http://www.raineycollins.co.nz/

Alan Knowsley

Threatening the boss leads to sacking...

Not a surprising result that saying to your boss during an argument “I know where you live” lead to a sacking and the upholding of the dismissal by the Employment Relations Authority.

What may take many employers by surprise is that the ERA thought that, because the employee apologised and undertook to get on with the boss, the dismissal would not have been upheld except for a prior warning a few months before.

A clear threat to the boss and taken as such and that is not grounds for dismissal?

If you need assistance navigating the minefield that is the disciplinary process then check out our free guide at www.raineycollins.co.nz or call me on 0800 733 400.

Getting the disciplinary process right....

Over my many years of acting for employers and employees the most common thing I have noted is that it is failing to follow a proper process that lands employers in trouble and costs them the big $....

In a disciplinary investigation it is important to follow a fair process...

Here are the basic steps (full a full guide go to http://www.raineycollins.co.nz/ and see my free download guide).
1. Advise them of the investigation
2. Tell them the allegations
3. Provide supporting material
4. Consider suspension and allow input
5. Advise regarding a support person
6. Set a date, time and place for the meeting
7. Advise of possible outcomes
8. Seek their response to the allegations
9. Investigate matters arising
10. Reach a reasoned conclusion
11. Advise the employee
12. Seek input on any penalty
13. Decide on the penaly
14. Advise the employee and note the file
15. Don't take shortcuts!!

Following a fair process gives you the best outcome. You are able to investigate the allegations and reach a sound conclusion and the employee has had a fair part to play in the investigation. If you are unsure what to do, call me for an initial chat on 0800 733 400

Alan Knowsley

When is it a resignation?

A recent Employment Court case has over turned the Employment Relations Authority on whether an employee had resigned or not. The employee said "I'm out of here, I'm finished" and walked off, not contacting the work place for over 6 days.

The employer unsurprisingly took that as a resignation and arranged a replacement. The ERA agreed and rejected the claim for wrongful dismissal. The Court over turned the decision and awarded 3 months wages and compensation for humiliation.

The Employment Court considers there was not an intention to resign as the words were spoken after a heated argument and the employee was well known to be impulsive.

One good point for the employer is that the Court reduced the remedies by 50% due to the employees contribution to the situation.

What do you think? Can someone say that, walk off, not contact the employer for almost a week and claim it wasn't a resignation?

Failure to Prevent Accident Costs $45,000...

Another example from the New Zealand Courts of an employer facing a huge financial hit because of a failure to have in place health & safety measures to protect employees and others at work.
In this recent case the employer was hit with a $37,000 fine and $8,100 reparation after the worker fell into a hole on a work site. There were insufficient safety measures in place to prevent injury. Employers must take all practicable steps to identify hazards and then eliminate, isolate or minimise them. This applies what ever industry you are in.
Putting together a health & safety plan is not something you should overlook and you need to regularly check and update the plan and make sure it is being followed.