Brakes put on bus driver’s dismissal case
A bus driver who was fired after being rude to a passenger has failed to show she was wrongly dismissed.
The Employment Relations Authority found Tranzit Coachlines Manawatu¯ was justified in firing Irena Proctor for serious misconduct.
According to the authority’s decision, released last month, Proctor worked for Tranzit from February 2017 until September 2018.
She was fired after a passenger complained about her behaviour.
Video footage was viewed by Tranzit’s urban services manager Stephen Du Plessis before Proctor was told about the issue.
She was told no conclusions had been met, but actions bringing the company or staff into disrepute was serious misconduct which could result in being fired.
She did not take a support person to a meeting about the incident, where she said she was not happy with what she saw on the video.
She told Du Plessis she was frustrated and angry that day due to work issues, feeling no one was listening to her, and knew she could take out her frustrations on others.
She apologised, saying it would not happen again.
Notes from the meeting stated she had no suggestions on what to do to ensure it did not happen again.
She was told the options included being fired, taken off urban bus routes or a final warning, but she could also come up with other options or ways to ensure a similar incident did not happen again.
She did not provide suggestions by a deadline and, despite saying sorry again and saying she would propose doing anger management, was fired.
Proctor claimed Tranzit did not follow due process and she was wrongly fired.
Authority member Trish Mackinnon disagreed, saying there was one minor process issue – Proctor waiting too long to get notes from her disciplinary meeting – which did not make things unfair. Tranzit could have issued Proctor a warning and let her keep working, with the understanding she would attend anger management, but was not obliged to, Mackinnon said.
It was clear in her employment agreement she could be immediately fired for serious misconduct, which her actions were.