KEY POINTS:
An Auckland SkyCity casino supervisor who failed to detect a mistake by one of his dealers had a chequered work record and was rightly sacked, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled.
Darren Samuels claimed he was inadequately supported by his employers, and that while he missed the dealer's error, "nine out of 10 supervisors" would have done the same.
The SkyCity operations manager at the time of the March incident, Jimmy Gifford, told the authority he "agonised" over the decision to fire Mr Samuels but concluded it was right.
He said he took into account the series of file notes and formal warnings Mr Samuels had received for similar pieces of inattention over a long period.
"The point had come to conclude that Mr Samuels simply did not have the level of attention required to be supervisor in table games."
The authority found that Mr Samuels had been given the same level of support as other supervisors and that "his failings had been clearly spelled out to him".
A final warning had been issued in January last year and further disciplinary action taken in June that year.
Authority member James Wilson ruled that SkyCity's decision to fire Mr Samuels was what any fair and reasonable employer would have done.
He dismissed Mr Samuels' claim for reinstatement, lost wages, and compensation for hurt and humiliation.
