KEY POINTS:
A college groundsman who spray-painted a student's car with road marking paint because he parked in front of a school gate has had his claim for unjustified dismissal upheld by the Employment Relations Authority on a technicality.
Peter Bell, the former groundsman at Waikato's Cambridge High School, was fired last year after becoming incensed at finding a student's car parked across the gate to the school's playing field.
He found out the car belonged to student Fabian Clarke, who had gone to Hamilton for a basketball game.
He told the authority he was frustrated by vandalism at the school and "purposefully" set about spray-painting the student's car.
Mr Clarke said he had to scrape the yellow paint off the windscreen with a razor blade so he could drive the car home that night.
Asked to justify his actions to principal Philip McCreery, Mr Bell said Mr Clarke's car was blocking an emergency access which was clearly marked, and that he was "annoyed" at the "selfish, uncaring action".
He said: "I believe he deserved all he got, and then some, and should be censured by the school for his actions."
The authority found that Mr Bell's actions amounted to serious misconduct but upheld his claim for unjustified dismissal because the school had not warned him that he faced dismissal when he was called to the disciplinary meeting.
This was "standard practice" for an employer, the authority said.
However, it was satisfied that even if the school had issued the correct warning, Mr Bell was still likely to have been fired.
For that reason, the authority made no award to Mr Bell for lost remuneration. The matter of costs is to be resolved between Mr Bell and the school.
- NZPA
