A Mosgiel worker has been stung with a penalty after breaching a settlement by making abusive comments about other staff, including labelling one a "sycophantic sociopath".
The Employment Relations Authority has ordered Robert Beentjes to pay $2500 for breaching a confidential settlement with former employer Mosgiel Mitre 10 Mega.
The agreement, about which few details were revealed in the ruling, included a clause that neither party would "speak ill of the other to a third party".
ERA member Christine Hickey ruled Mr Beentjes'comments in numerous unwanted texts sent to a staff member amounted to "speaking ill" about the company's director.
He also used abusive language towards the staff member he sent the texts to, calling him "greedy", an "arsehole" and implying he had lied, either because he was asked to, or because of the staff member's personal ambition.
Mr Beentjes also implied the company had swept under the carpet allegations he made against another staff member, whom he called a "sycophantic sociopath".
Ms Hickey said the comments about the other staff members, and not just the director, amounted to speaking ill of his former employer, and had therefore breached the settlement.
Police had spoken to Mr Beentjes after a number of the texts were referred to them. The harm caused by his breaches were serious, because Jacks Hardware (trading as Mosgiel Mitre 10 Mega) had been entitled to consider employment matters between it and Mr Beentjes were "over and done with" after the settlement, she said.
"Mr Beentjes' texts meant that was not the case and Jacks Hardware has had to be involved in further legal proceedings at cost of time, energy and money, as well as worry about the impact on the staff member receiving the texts and support it had had to put in place for him."
Ms Hickey did not accept Mr Beentjes' argument that his reference to the director were inadvertent or "an error of judgement".
"Mr Beentjes' emails to the authority and Jacks Hardware in relation to these proceedings make it clear that [he] remains dissatisfied with the events leading up to the agreement and that is what has led to the texts. I consider that the breaches were flagrant and deliberate and ongoing."
Of the $2500 penalty, $1500 is to be paid to Jacks Hardware and the rest to the ERA. The issue of costs was reserved.
By Vaughan Elder
