An employee has succeeded in his personal grievance for unjustified dismissal after he was sacked for “slacking off” and giving company information to the opposition.

The Employment Relations Authority held that there had been no disciplinary process and the dismissal was unfair.  It awarded lost wages of $72,000 plus interest and compensation of $8,000.

Another issue in the case was the employer’s claim that it was not the employer, and that the employee was employed by another company that it contracted with.

The employer could not provide any proof of this employment arrangement and the ERA held that it had done nothing to inform the employee that he was not employed by them in over three years of employment.