An employee working as a ministerial coordinator
was suspended and then dismissed after he refused to make formatting changes to
the signature block on a letter. The employee was directed to do so by one of
the Ministry’s managers.
The Employment Relations Authority
rejected the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal.
The ERA found that the employee had no plausible
explanation for his blatant refusal to comply with the lawful and reasonable
instruction of the manager. The ERA noted that in evidence, the employee
accepted that he would have made the correction had he been asked to do so by
his immediate manager who was lower down in the Ministry’s managerial hierarchy.
The ERA held that the Ministry’s
investigation into the employee’s alleged misconduct and the dismissal process was
exemplary in every respect. Accordingly, the Ministry acted as a fair and
reasonable employer could in all of the circumstances by dismissing the
employee.
Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer Wellington
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