Sleepy handyman loses appeal

Photo / Thinkstock

A handyman at an Auckland retirement village caught sleeping at work has lost a battle with his former employer to keep his job.

Paul Deerness was fired in March last year after his boss at The Poynton in Takapuna, Lynda Hull, found him asleep in an apartment while she was showing a prospective resident through.

Mr Deerness took the matter to the Employment Relations Authority, disputing the events surrounding his dismissal and the investigation conducted by the employer.

He argued that he had sat down "for no more than a minute" and was waiting for water to drain from the plants he had just watered, intending to mop up any spillage before leaving.

Although ERA member Rosemary Monaghan found some procedures surrounding Mr Deerness' sacking to be "flawed", she decided the dismissal was justified.

She acknowledged that there were some issues around the fact that Ms Hull, who was involved in this disciplinary process, was also a key witness.

She said "Ms Hull should have restricted herself to the role of witness".

Although the process had been flawed, she said, Mr Deerness had committed misconduct. She believed the account from Ms Hull and another staff member.

"I do not consider the procedural flaws vitiate the justification for the dismissal."