Dismissed man awaits decision

Hallam Kupa.

The decision on whether a former Magpies player with 26 years' experience in the meat industry will get his job back has been reserved.

Hallam Kupa alleges he was unfairly dismissed from his job at Whakatu Silver Fern Farms in April last year for not wearing a safety hat.

On the first day of the trial at the Employment Court in Hastings, Mr Kupa said he had been "singled out" and unfairly treated for not wearing a bump-hat. The hearing was told a sticker on the white Protector Bumpmaster hat warned it would not provide protection against falling objects or heavy strikes, and that it would protect against "light bumps and lacerations" only.

The hat was introduced in December 2014 and hot Hawke's Bay summer temperatures made it too hot to wear, the court heard.

The court heard that, to dismiss him, the company had relied on a paragraph that said he had deliberately refused to wear a bump-hat, which was part of the personal protective equipment requirements.

Summing up, Silver Fern Farms' lawyer Mr Cleary said Mr Kupa would wear the hat if the air-conditioning was fixed, providing cooler temperatures, but it had not been fixed so Mr Kupa would continue to not wear his hat if he got his job back.

He said the hat was part of personal protective equipment employees had to wear for health and safety.

If an employee failed to wear it they could be warned, but choosing deliberately not to wear it was dismissable.

He said Mr Kupa was "making up his own safety rules".

Mr Kupa's lawyer Simon Mitchell said the case's starting point was the hat - there was no evidence they were protective and they were not always mandatory, with managers allowing workers to take them off at different times, which showed their inadequacy.

Mr Mitchell said his client could not find another job because he had worked in the industry for a long time and the skills were not easily transferable.

Judge Bruce Corkhill said at the end of the two-and-a-half day hearing yesterday he would reserve his decision.