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Unjustly fired but awarded zero damages
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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