Fire Service worker awarded $5250 after unjustified warning for bullying

File photo / NZ Herald

A senior Fire Service staff member has been awarded $5250 after she was given an unjustified formal warning for alleged bullying that included ignoring people who said good morning to her.

Lynda McHugh took a claim to the Employment Relations Authority, saying a warning she was given for allegedly bullying members of her team was unjustified.

Ms McHugh was one of three fire investigators looking after the Waitemata region when the bullying claims were made.

Other staff claimed Ms McHugh ignored their greetings in the morning and bullied them in meetings.

Her actions created tension and "an icy environment" for the team, according to the investigation by the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS).

The NZFS investigated the claims made about Ms McHugh and on January 28, 2014, Ms McHugh was given an oral warning.

Until receiving the oral warning Ms McHugh had a blemish-free record.

Authority member Vicki Campbell found the NZFS hadn't conducted a "full and fair" investigation in to the claims of bullying.

"There was more NZFS could have done," she said in her decision.

Ms McHugh told the authority that the warning was inconsistent with other warnings issued in the past, and Ms Campbell agreed.

Ms McHugh was seeking $35,000 in compensation for the warning, but the authority awarded her $5250.

The authority said Ms McHugh hadn't fully upheld her duty to act in good faith to her employer when she secretly recorded a meeting and didn't tell her employer.

But, Ms Campbell said Ms McHugh was disadvantaged by the warning and was overlooked for a transfer to Tauranga because of the mark on her record.