Employer ordered to pay $15,300 for unjustified dismissal of employee...

The Employment Relations Authority has ordered an employer to pay $15,300 after finding that they had unjustifiably dismissed one of their employees. The employee raised a complaint with the Authority after he was dismissed for making sexually suggestive comments to his co-worker.

During his employment the employee was suffering workplace stress and was subsequently put on stress leave for two weeks. During this time one of his co-workers was promoted to a position above him, when he had previously reported to the employee.

Shortly after returning to work the employee was informed that there had been two allegations of sexual harassment made against him. He was sent a letter highlighting the allegations.

The employee was alleged to have given a female staff member the nickname “sexy eyes”, asked sexually explicit questions to two staff members, and had initiated unwanted physical contact in the workplace.

At a meeting shortly after, the employee admitted to giving his co-worker the name “sexy eyes” but denied the other allegations. The day after, he attended another meeting where he was given a letter that stated that his actions constituted serious misconduct and asked for feedback regarding this decision. In this meeting  the employee was given the option to resign.

The employee resigned at a meeting the following week. The employee raised personal grievances of unjustified dismissal in relation to his resignation and unjustified disadvantage due to the promotion of his co-worker.

In the Authority’s investigation the employer admitted that if the employee had not resigned then he would have been dismissed. This meant that the resignation was to be treated as a constructive dismissal and that the employer would have to justify their decision.

The Authority rejected the unjustified disadvantage claim in relation to the promotion of the employee’s co-worker, as the promotion did not change his position in any way.

The Authority decided that the claim for unjustified dismissal was successful because of three factors:

• The employee refuted the allegations, but his response was never returned to the complainants for consideration;
• The employer stated that the employee’s actions were considered to be at the lower end on the scale of sexual harassment claims, but did not consider alternatives to dismissal in the decision-making process;
• It was unclear who the decision-maker was, and the employee did not have access to each decision-maker. This means that the decision was made without considering all the factors, as there was information that the employee was unable to present to the decision-makers.

The employer was ordered to pay $15,300 as compensation for his unjustified dismissal.

If there is confusion around the rights of an employee in an employment situation, it pays to seek advice from a professional with experience in the area.

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.

Alan Knowsley and Matthew Binnie