An employee working as a driver
was dismissed after he complained to his employer that his vehicle was unsafe
to drive. The employer concluded that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle
and instructed the employee to keep working. The employee refused to do so, and
became abusive towards his manager.
The Employment Relations
Authority upheld the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified
dismissal. The ERA held that the employer failed to act as a fair and
reasonable employer could in the circumstances by failing to raise its concerns
with the employee, and by failing to provide the employee with relevant
information relating to the disciplinary investigation. As a result, the
employee was not fully or fairly informed of the employer’s concerns and had no
opportunity to comment and respond to them before he was dismissed. Accordingly,
the employer was unable to genuinely consider the employee’s explanation for
his conduct.
The ERA also found that the
employer had failed to sufficiently investigate the disciplinary allegations. The
employee’s manager was the leading investigator and found that it was not
necessary to collect information from other witnesses as he had already formed
the view that the employee’s conduct was threatening, disruptive, abusive and
difficult. The ERA held that it was inappropriate for the manager to conduct
the disciplinary investigation when he was the main witness, and found that the
decision to dismiss the employee was predetermined.
The ERA ordered the employer to
pay $10,030 for lost wages and $4,000 compensation for distress plus $2,000 in costs.
Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
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