Sacked worker wins case
A senior caregiver sacked from her job at Kensington Court Lifecare in Stoke has been awarded $9000 compensation plus lost wages.
Employment Relations Authority member Philip Cheyne has ruled that Susan Lucas was unjustifiably dismissed and unjustifiably disadvantaged.
Ultimate Care Group owns and operates the rest home. Its facility manager, Vanessa Kingsbury, summarily dismissed Ms Lucas in July 2009 for serious misconduct.
The dismissal followed complaints from other staff. A letter from the company to Ms Lucas alleged that staff felt ‘‘bullied’’ by her and were considering leaving because of her behaviour towards them.
At a disciplinary meeting, Ms Lucas denied intentionally harassing or bullying staff, and apologised if her behaviour had been perceived that way.
Represented by lawyer Anjela Sharma, Ms Lucas claimed her dismissal was unjustified because of procedural defects and lack of substance.
Ms Kingsbury said she told Ms Lucas she would be investigating the complaints, and gave Ms Lucas copies of them before telling her that she was suspended.
Mr Cheyne said Ms Lucas had no opportunity to say anything about whether there should be a suspension before that announcement.
He accepted that Ms Lucas’ employment was affected to her disadvantage by the suspension, and he found that it was unjustified because she was not given an opportunity to comment prior to the decision being announced.
He ordered the company to pay her $2010 in lost wages and 5 per cent interest on that compensation, plus $9000 compensation for distress.
Ms Lucas, who now has another job, told The Nelson Mail she was relieved that the case was over, as it had taken three years.
In his determination, Mr Cheyne said the investigation had been delayed because of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, because the ERA could not access its office and files. He had worked on other matters deferred or affected by the quakes.
Ms Lucas said her win should be an encouragement to others standing up for their jobs.