A married man, sacked after he was accused of taking sick leave to go on a romantic jaunt in Europe, tried to prevent details of the case emerging.
Wellington man Gary Hepburn was dismissed from his role as regional manager at packaging maker Huhtamaki after the discovery of an email exchange with a young foreign woman.
The company said the emails had cast doubt over his reasons for taking two weeks sick leave.
Mr Hepburn responded that he went to Europe to see friends and had always been up-front where he was going.
The company did not accept his explanations and dismissed him last October 10.
The Employment Relations Authority this month rejected Mr Hepburn's personal grievance claim, saying the company was justified in its concern over the emails.
It said the emails were "romantic in nature and suggested or sought an intimate relationship''.
"Far from taking two weeks to nurse himself back to health, it seemed from this email exchange that Mr Hepburn had deliberately misled his employer about his intentions and was planning to visit with friends in their own country.''
It has now emerged that Mr Hepburn sought to prevent details of the case emerging.
Mr Hepburn applied to the Employment Court for an urgent non-publication order relating to the authority's determination.
But in a ruling, released today, the court said it did not have jurisdiction over such an order, and an application should have been made directly to the authority.