Wrongfully sacked principal to get compensation

School board of trustees chairman Kenneth Timperley said the board was happy the former principal had not been not reinstated.

A Northland school may have to pay almost $190,000 compensation to a former principal the Employment Court ruled was unjustifiably dismissed.

Elgin Edwards was dismissed by Bay of Islands College's limited statutory manager Carol Anderson in April 2013 after allegations of serious misconduct and irreconcilable differences. Mr Edwards took the school's board of trustees to the Employment Relations Authority which in July 2013 ruled he was justifiably dismissed.

He then appealed the authority's decision in the Employment Court, which, in a decision released this week, awarded him compensation equivalent to 12 months' pay and other employment benefits totalling about $170,000 plus another $16,500 for "non-pecuniary" losses.

The court said he was unjustifiably dismissed but did not order his reinstatement due to a series of dysfunctional relationships between Mr Edwards, a significant number of the school staff, its board of trustees and the community.

Chief Employment Court Judge Graeme Colgan ruled there were procedural flaws and shortcomings in the investigation processes that led to Mr Edward's dismissal.

The former principal welcomed the court's decision, saying he felt from the very beginning his dismissal was unjustified.

"That's why I went straight to the ERA and I was surprised with that outcome but I am happy with the Employment Court's decision which I think is the best outcome," Mr Edwards said.

Since his dismissal, he has devoted most of his time on legal proceedings and on various church activities in Whangarei, Waimate North and Kawakawa.

Mr Edwards, who lives in Russell, has not ruled out another job in the education sector in future and said community work and employment in churches also appealed to him.

School board of trustees chairman Kenneth Timperley had mixed reactions to the court's judgment.

"Overall the board of trustees are happy he was not reinstated because we obviously don't agree that he was wrongfully dismissed," he said.

Any decision on appealing the judgment would have to be made by the school's insurers Lumley Insurance, he said. Mr Timperley said the issue of compensation would have to be discussed by the school, the board's insurance company and possibly the Ministry of Education.

Ms Anderson, a commercial lawyer, who was appointed the school's statutory manager by the ministry, cited four incidents of serious misconduct by Mr Edwards which led to his dismissal. They included alleged "fabrication" of staff survey data; he misled or attempted to mislead the school about its NCEA results; his unacceptable behaviour at a meeting with her and his disrespectful response to a staff member. "I conclude that the LSM (Limited Statutory Manager) had the resources reasonably available to her to have arranged for an independent investigation into the disputed factual basis of her own complaint of serious misconduct by Mr Edwards towards her, of which she was also to be the judge," Judge Colgan said.

The Ministry of Education was unable to comment yesterday as it had not been provided with a copy of Judge Colgan's decision.

Head of sector enablement and support, Katrina Casey, said the responsibility for payment of any costs awarded by the court needed to be determined following confirmation of the decision, and in consultation between the ministry, the school board and its insurance company.