Dismissal was fair, says ERA

Phil Dodanis was dismissed by WDHB. Photo / Doug Sherring

A warehouse worker fired after sending an expletive-laden letter to one of his employer's suppliers has lost his bid for reinstatement.

Philip Dodanis complained to the manager of ProPharma by phone and letter after almost being hit by one of the company's pallets while working for the Waikato District Health Board.

His letter referred to ProPharma as "MONEY GRUBBY BASTARDS [sic]" and concluded by telling the company to "F***ING WAKE UP".

Dodanis was sacked in January 2007 and the Employment Relations Authority this week released its decision to dismiss his claim for unjustified dismissal.

He told the authority he acknowledged the letter was abusive but said it was written in desperation and in the heat of the moment after a number of near misses. He said he wrote a letter because he was not satisfied by the response to his phone complaint.

Authority adjudicator Vicki Campbell did not accept the explanation and said the letter was written "well after" the incident and the phone call.

"I consider it more likely than not that Mr Dodanis had had an opportunity to cool down after the incident but was intent on making his opinions known to ProPharma," she said.

The incident occurred in November 2006 when a pallet fell from a forklift at the health board's warehouse, narrowly missing Dodanis.

The 52-year-old, represented by lawyer Simon Scott, claimed his dismissal was unjustified because the board relied on past misconduct. This included Dodanis writing "F***ING HEAVY" on lids of bins containing items from ProPharma, a practice the company complained about in 2006.

Campbell decided the health board had a "requirement" to consider Dodanis' employment history, which included regular discussions about his conduct, counselling for previous actions and formal warnings for similar misconduct. She found the board's actions "were what a fair and reasonable employer would have done" and said Dodanis did not have a personal grievance claim.

Even if she had found Dodanis was unjustifiably dismissed, Campbell said she would have refused to award reinstatement because she considered him "wholly responsible for the situation that led to his dismissal".

Dodanis, who started working for the health board in 1991, told the Herald on Sunday the authority "wasn't factual in its findings" and vowed to take his grievance to the Employment Court.

"It shows to what extent these people in the Waikato upper echelons are prepared to go to to get rid of somebody who's quite vocal."

Bizarrely, Dodanis is back on health board grounds, working for the company contracted to do Waikato Hospital's laundry.