Employee dismissal justified after email to customer…

The Employment Relations Authority has dismissed an employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal.

The employer had received a complaint from a customer about the employee, and raised it as a disciplinary matter.  The employee directly emailed the customer and was abusive in the email.

The employer followed a process to investigate the new allegation relating to the email and gave the employee plenty of opportunities to respond to the allegation.  The employee blamed the employer for the situation and denied that the customer had any right to make a complaint.

The ERA held that the employer’s investigation was fair and reasonable, the employee’s email would have justified dismissal, and so did the employee’s behavior towards the employer after the raising of the allegation with him.

 

Alan Knowsley