Cafe worker to get $3150 after sacking

A Christchurch cafe has been ordered to pay $3150 to an employee after she claimed unjustifiable dismissal.

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ordered Ollivers Cafe, which operates Robert Harris, to pay Katrina Dew $2250 in lost wages for unjustified dismissal plus $900 for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings.

Dew claimed she was unjustifiably dismissed about April 17, 2011.

However, Ollivers claimed it was justified as a result of last February’s earthquake.

Ollivers operated two sites; one in South City, where Dew worked, and one in the central business district.

The central site was red-zoned, while the South City site sus- tained significant damage causing it to close until early June 2011.

Initially, Ollivers passed on the Government Earthquake Wage Subsidy to staff and stopped paying wages.

Dew was contacted during this time by text messages.

After meeting with an accountant in early April, the Ollivers directors decided to reopen the South City site.

Of nine staff who remained, five were needed.

There was a disagreement about whether Dew had been told her job was not guaranteed in a discussion on April 13.

Ollivers director Karen Whalley stated Dew became abusive and swore at her.

ERA member Mike Loftus said as Whalley admitted Dew was not chosen because of her behaviour it implied fault, which was ‘‘incompatible with the present redundancy justification’’.