KEY POINTS:
An Auckland restaurant owner who fired a manager for allegedly not performing during his trial period has been ordered to pay him $8333.
Dylan Meredith took his former employer, Gengy's Investments, to the Employment Relations Authority, saying his sacking was unjustified and procedurally flawed.
Mr Meredith started at the restaurant as a bar attendant, working for an hourly wage.
In April 2006, he was made restaurant manager, and paid a salary of $32,000.
However, the terms and conditions of his employment were never written down.
Adjudicator Alastair Dumbleton said Mr Meredith and the company's managing director, Wonki Cho, agreed the manager was on a three-month trial.
"What is less clear is whether his employment was permanent, although commencing with a three-month trial phase, or whether his employment was for a finite term of three months, during which his suitability for the management position could be assessed," he said.
A supervisor, Kevin Sam, had tried informally to monitor and mentor Mr Meredith for two months.
The supervisor also listed a number of problems with Mr Meredith's performance as a manager.
He was abusive to staff members and argued with a staff member in front of customers, resulting in the cancelling of a 60-person booking.
He had poor and erratic work attendance, poor organisation and management skills and lied about his computer skills, Mr Sam said.
In a similar vein, Mr Cho said Mr Meredith had failed to disclose problems with alcohol and medication that affected his performance.
During his trial as manager, Mr Meredith took four days off sick. Once he was sent home for being too drunk and on another occasion he didn't turn up at all. While he was in charge, health inspectors gave the restaurant's kitchen a poor health rating.
Another time he allegedly used the company's account with a baker to buy goods for himself - an accusation hotly denied by Mr Meredith, who claimed he was just joking with the baker.
On June 10, Mr Cho offered to pay out three weeks' earnings so Mr Meredith went immediately, or let him work out the rest of his trial period. Mr Meredith chose to stay.
On July 7, Mr Cho gave Mr Meredith a letter telling him he didn't meet the requirements of the job.
Within days, Mr Meredith took his ex-boss to the Employment Court.
Mr Dumbleton ruled that taking four sick days in three months "does not seem excessive or unreasonable for someone such as Mr Meredith who I accept is particularly susceptible to bouts of flu".
"While I consider there were aspects of his performance the employer was entitled to be concerned about, these ought to have been addressed properly in the context of a measured and monitored trial period.
"The trial of Mr Meredith for three months was not a fair one and his conduct did not give the employer sufficient grounds to summarily dismiss him."
The authority ordered Mr Cho to pay Mr Meredith two months' pay, worth $5333. For the humiliation and distress suffered from being sacked - resulting in clinical anxiety, requiring hospital treatment - Mr Dumbleton ordered the employer to pay Mr Meredith a further $3000.
- NZPA
