Spotless investigation anything but
One of the country’s largest cleaning and service companies has been ordered to pay a former supervisor more than $20,000.
Spotless fired the supervisor on the basis of a flawed investigation into a heated meeting about employees taking company cars home overnight.
The saga began when the supervisor, Mark Brokenshire, tried to do what he thought Spotless managers wanted by telling staff who reported to him at Ohakea Air Force Base about the vehicle issue.
It has ended with the Employment Relations Authority ordering Spotless to pay Brokenshire $20,250, plus one day’s holiday pay.
In her decision, authority member Trish Mackinnon said flaws in Spotless’ investigation led to Brokenshire being unjustifiably dismissed.
Brokenshire worked as a maintenance supervisor for Spotless for two years, one of those at Ohakea, before being fired in February 2016.
The spark that lit the employment fuse was a meeting he held with the 11 staff who reported to him, where he circulated a letter about people taking work vehicles off base outside working hours.
The issue had been raised at a previous meeting by Brokenshire’s manager, but staff got rowdy at the meeting Brokenshire ran, Mackinnon said.
There was swearing in both directions, with Brokenshire and his staff going to management about what happened.
Brokenshire admitted in an email he had behaved ‘‘in a less than professional manner’’, but had endured jeers, pointed fingers and verbal abuse.
Meanwhile, staff said Brokenshire was unprofessional and aggressive. Meetings were held where a senior manager quizzed Brokenshire about various incidents, including allegations he was seen speeding on base and failed to stop at stop signs.
Brokenshire went on paid leave before he was dismissed at a disciplinary investigation meeting.
The dismissal letter said there was insufficient evidence to show he failed to stop at a stop sign, ‘‘reasonable evidence’’ that he sped, and that the use of ‘‘inappropriately harsh language’’ shocked employees.
However, the letter said the speeding on base did not form part of the decision to fire Brokenshire.
Mackinnon found Spotless’ investigator interviewed the staff, but only spoke to Brokenshire at a disciplinary investigation meeting ‘‘in which there was scant emphasis on investigation’’.
The only time Brokenshire could respond to the allegations was at the meeting that ended in his dismissal, she said.
‘‘In my view, the decision to dismiss was compromised by the flawed investigation that underpinned it,’’ Mackinnon said.
Brokenshire’s award was made up of $13,500 unpaid wages and $6750 compensation. The compensation claim could have been higher, but Mackinnon found Brokenshire’s conduct during the vehicle meeting meant the sum needed to be deducted.