The Employment Relations Authority has rejected a personal
grievance claim for unjustified dismissal of a branch manager who was sacked
for serious misconduct after he rented accommodation in his company’s name.
The manager rented the accommodation and told the letting
agency that he was arranging accommodation for another manager who was moving
over from Australia to New Zealand. No
such manager existed and he lived in the property himself with his family. The company name was down on the lease as
tenant and payments were made in the company’s name although these were
actually paid personally by the manager.
The employer followed a good process in dealing with the
matter. It raised the issue of
suspension with the manager and gave him an opportunity to comment on
suspension before it decided to suspend.
It also told him what the allegation was and provided him with a fair
opportunity to respond to the allegation.
When he attended the disciplinary meeting, without representation, it
reminded him of his right to be represented and gave him an opportunity to seek
representation, which he declined.
After concluding that the manager had been dishonest in
his actions by renting the premises in the company name, it indicated to him
that this was serious misconduct and that it was looking to dismiss him, and
gave him an opportunity to comment on that proposed action.
The ERA held that the company’s actions were what a
reasonable employer could do in the circumstances and that they were justified
in dismissing the manager.
The ERA said that even if it had found flaws with the
company process, that the manager’s actions were so bad, he would have had no
remedies, even if he had been unjustifiably dismissed because of some process
issue.
It is really important to not only be able to justify your
decisions on the facts, but also to follow a fair and reasonable process in
arriving at conclusions and giving the employee every opportunity to respond
fairly to any allegations before decisions are made as the employer did in this
case.
Alan
Knowsley
Employment
Lawyer Wellington
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