Employers’ example of how NOT to deal with a workplace altercation…

The Employment Relations Authority has ordered an employer to pay $9,600 after an employee proved he was unjustifiably disadvantaged and constructively dismissed from his job.

During a work shift a verbal altercation between the employee and a supervisor turned physical. The supervisor had ‘thrown the first punch’, and the employee was injured, going home that day on sick leave and not returning to the workplace.

The employer’s response to the situation ended in both the employee and supervisor being given written warnings. The employee then raised a personal grievance against the employer and resigned after no solution was found.

The Authority first considered whether the employee had been unjustifiably disadvantaged.

It found that the employer had not carried out a fair and reasonable process in response to the altercation for the following reasons:

• The employee was not given a proper opportunity to present his case. The only chance he had to recall the events was immediately after the incident, when the supervisor was present. 
• The employer’s attempt at a solution was to have both the employee and the supervisor verbally apologise straight afterwards. This was not an acceptable solution given the seriousness of the altercation.
• The employee was never allowed to see the CCTV footage despite asking for it multiple times.
• The written warning referred to the CCTV footage and the company code of conduct (the employee wasn’t given a copy and didn’t even know it existed).

Because of this the Authority decided the employer’s actions were not reasonable and the employee was unjustifiably disadvantaged.

The Authority then considered if the employee had been constructively dismissed.

Constructive dismissal is when an employer’s conduct compels an employee to resign, in this instance by destroying the employee’s trust and confidence in the workplace.

Because the employee was injured from a physical altercation at work and his employer failed to fairly investigate it the Authority thought it was reasonable that the employee’s trust and confidence had been ruined.

It was reasonable to expect that the employee would resign rather than return to work. Because this was foreseeable by the employer the resignation was effectively a dismissal.

In response to these findings the Authority ordered the employer pay $12,000 in compensation for harm and humiliation. However, they reduced this amount by 20% because of the employee’s contribution towards the altercation. The employee had begun the verbal altercation and so was seen as partially responsible. This left $9,600 to be paid by the employer.

As an employer it always pays to follow correct process and deal with disputes in a thorough and transparent way.

As an employee if you believe you have been treated unfairly 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.