Casino employee fails to report cheating player…

An employee who worked as a surveillance operator has had his personal grievance claim for constructive dismissal rejected by the Employment Relations Authority.

The ERA found that after failing to report a serious incident on the casino floor the employee was suspended. The employee was unable to provide any reasonable explanation for breaching company policy and subsequently resigned in the middle of the disciplinary process.

The ERA held that the employee failed to fall into one of the three categories of constructive dismissal;

1.    Where the employee is forced to choose between resignation or dismissal;

2.    Where the employer has followed a course of conduct with the deliberate and dominant purpose of coercing an employee to resign;

3.    Where a breach of duty leads an employee to resign.

The ERA noted that the employer had been carrying out a full and fair investigation when the employee resigned and despite this, the employer was entitled to dismiss the employee as his actions constituted serious misconduct.

Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer Wellington