KEY POINTS:
A rookie beauty therapist who was fired for being incompetent and exaggerating her skills on her CV has been awarded $4000 by the Employment Relations Authority.
Rosemary Philpott was employed at Refinery Ltd on February 7 last year, but was sacked on February 22.
Ms Philpott had answered an advertisement from the company, which was looking for a fully qualified and experienced beauty therapist and nail technician.
The advertisement said the applicant needed to know waxing, manicures, pedicures and nail enhancement.
Ms Philpott's CV stated she had the necessary qualifications. Refinery owner Debbie Francis told the authority that during the job interview, Ms Philpott indicated she had not had a great deal of nail technician work, but was experienced in the other areas of the job description.
After a week, Ms Francis said Ms Philpott did not even have the basic skills and would have to be trained "virtually from scratch".
Shortly after Ms Philpott started, Ms Francis said she started receiving complaints from customers.
She discussed her concerns with salon manager Nancy Broadbent and they said it seemed there was a mismatch between Ms Philpott's ability and expectation the women had of her.
Ms Philpott told the authority that on February 22 Ms Broadbent gave her a termination letter and told her to sign it.
Authority member Dzintra King said although Ms Philpott signed the letter, it was clear she felt she had no choice and so was therefore constructively dismissed.
"Fairness required that Ms Philpott be given notice of the purpose of the meeting and be offered the opportunity to have a representative. Ms Philpott was not told what the complaints were and so had no opportunity to address them."
- NZPA
