It also said she had reported the matter for an “improper purpose” – to cause trouble for C, who had been the subject of another complaint Henry had laid.
Trust chief executive Russell Ensor believed at the time that no assault had taken place, according to court documents.
The trust initially suspended Henry on full pay from her $96,000-a-year job while it conducted investigations, and dismissed her four months later.
Henry took a personal grievance claim to the Employment Relations Authority, which found against her.
She then appealed to the Employment Court, which found in her favour.
“The decision to suspend Ms Henry was not justified,” Employment Court Judge Kerry Smith said.
“The trust did not adequately disclose to her the reasons for it and there was no proper basis for reaching that decision. She has established her personal grievance.”
The judge said that, when Ensor gave evidence, it was apparent that another reason existed for his decision to fire Henry, other than how she had handled reporting the alleged assault.
“He attributed to her a bad temper,” the judge said.
He said it was difficult to contemplate an appropriate reason to exclude Henry from the workplace while the investigations into her were carried out.
“Compounding that difficulty is the fact that Ms Henry was deprived of an opportunity to address what appears to have been the real basis for her suspension: Mr Ensor’s concern about her alleged temper.”
The court was told that Henry’s years of working for the trust were meaningful and rewarding for her, professionally and personally, and she felt “crushed and devastated” when she lost her job.
“She could not understand why everything turned around and why what she described as false allegations were ‘drummed up’ against her,” the judgment said.
Henry told the court of the indignity and emotional anguish she felt for being suspended from her job for almost four months and being subjected to testimony that “vilified” her in the investigations.
“She recounted sleepless nights, inconsolable crying, and self-doubts. She said she was too ashamed to show herself in public in her small community because of the indignity of being suspended from her job, of which news spread quickly,” the judgment said.
Henry sought reinstatement to her former position, lost remuneration, $40,000 as compensation for humiliation and loss of dignity, and special damages for legal fees of $8060.
Judge Smith said reinstatement was not practical or reasonable.
But he ordered that the trust pay Henry $52,636 for lost pay, $35,000 for loss of dignity, and $8060 in special damages.
In a separate judgment, he also ordered the trust to pay her $14,000 in costs for defending her case before the Employment Relations Authority, $32,104 for taking her appeal to the court, and $1916 in disbursements.
The South Waikato Achievment Trust has residential and creative arts units and operates businesses providing employment for clients, including recycling and e-waste facilities.
When contacted by the Herald, Ensor declined to comment further on the case but confirmed that the trust would not appeal the decision.
Asked if he was glad the matter was over, he said: “Yes, I am.”
