Compo for golf cart driver sacked after crash

Photo / Jason Dorday

An aviation worker who was caught on camera driving a golf cart from the passenger's side and crashing it into a stack of pallets was unjustifiably dismissed.

Mohammed Sahim, a cargo duty manager for Menzies Aviation (New Zealand) Ltd at Auckland Airport, initially lied to his bosses about the crash, saying he must have hit the accelerator instead of the brake during "a lapse".

However, when the incident was investigated, CCTV footage revealed he had been sitting in the passenger's side of the golf cart, and had quickly moved into the driver's seat after he crashed. The golf cart was damaged in the crash, in which Mr Sahim hurtled into a 1.5-metre high stack of pallets in an import shed.

Menzies fired him for serious misconduct, saying it took a "robust" attitude to health and safety.

Mr Sahim, who had worked for the company for more than 10 years, took his case to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), arguing he was unjustifiably dismissed.

On July 22, 2013, Mr Sahim and his colleague Shalen Sami had driven the golf cart to an import shed to put up a chain barrier in preparation for the arrival of the company's executive vice-president Mervin Walker, who was visiting from the UK.

When Mr Sami got out to open the barrier and walk into the shed, Mr Sahim - who was in the passenger's seat - decided to move the cart clear of the entrance way. His intention was to move it a few metres, but ended up travelling the length of the 40 metre shed. He had to swerve to avoid hitting the side of the exit door, and again to avoid hitting a fork lift truck. He only managed to stop "with the aid of the brakes and some wooden pallets", the ERA decision said.

Compliance and training officer Fiona Scott told the ERA that when she viewed the CCTV footage it showed "a different story to what Mr Sahim had told them". The ERA ruled that Menzies had carried out a fair and reasonable investigation, and the decision that he had failed to work in a safe manner with the potential to endanger himself and others was "one that a fair and reasonable employer could have reached".

However, it said his actions that day were a "single incident of negligence" across an "unblemished work record" of more than a decade, and they were not deliberate or reckless.

"He had apologised for his actions, and his distress at the dismissal decision, combined with his concern at the family situations he was experiencing, could have given Menzies the necessary assurance that there would be no repetition," the ERA said, concluding that he should not have been dismissed.

Menzies was ordered to pay Mr Sahim $6330 in lost wages, $189.90 for lost KiwiSaver contributions, and $6000 in compensation.