Flight attendant reinstated after sitting on job

Air New Zealand has been ordered to reinstate a flight attendant who was sacked after sitting down when the seatbelt light came on midflight.

Randall Wulff, who had worked for the airline for 14 years and was acting union president, was dismissed in November last year after the company said it could not rely on him to follow standard operating procedures, an Employment Relations Authority (ERA) report said.

Specifically, the company said Mr Wulff had signalled an intention to take a seat and fasten his seatbelt when the seatbelt light came on, rather than carrying on with normal duties, and had followed through on one occasion.

Mr Wulff said he accepted that a blanket policy of sitting whenever the light came on was unacceptable, but said that cabin staff could take a seat if they felt unsafe.

He said he only intended to convey that he would sit down in this circumstance, and that on the two occasions he did sit down other staff had sat down as well.

ERA member Yvonne Oldfield determined the airline "did not have a sufficiently firm foundation for its conclusion that Mr Wulff could not be relied upon", and ordered Air NZ reinstate him.

"I accept that Mr Wulff's behaviour gave rise to legitimate concerns about his reliability, however I do not accept that it has been established that those concerns are incapable of being addressed in such a way that the employment relationship can continue."

Ms Oldfield also ordered Air NZ pay Mr Wulff for loss of earnings from the date of the determination until the date he was reinstated, but declined to make any order of compensation for hurt and humiliation.

She said Mr Wulff had displayed poor judgement and a lack of insight, and had tended to trivialise the seriousness of the underlying concerns of the company.

- NZPA