In a rare outcome the Employment Relations Authority has
upheld a claim for unjustified dismissal but refused to award any damages at
all due to the employee’s conduct.
The employer raised an accusation of offering illicit
drugs in the workplace but failed to follow the correct procedures as it did
not give the employee an opportunity to comment on the accusations before it
decided to dismiss the employee.
The ERA held that the poor process meant the dismissal was
unjustified but had the employer followed a proper process it could have
concluded the employee had offered illegal drugs to fellow employees and could
have dismissed. This outrageous conduct
of the employee meant that it was appropriate to award no damages to them for
the breach of process.
Alan Knowsley
Employment
Lawyer Wellington
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