Eighteen of 27 investigations in the past five years were upheld, while another four firefighters resigned during the process, information obtained under the Official Information Act reveals.
It follows an investigation in 2019 that found widespread bullying across all levels of Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
The Otago and Southland investigations covered 45 different types of misconduct.
Fourteen of those were inappropriate behaviour, nine were harassment, eight were bullying, four were assault, three were for criminal charges, and three were for poor performance. The remaining four were unspecified.
Of those investigated, 22 were volunteers and five were career staff.
Informal action was taken against 12, disciplinary action was taken against four, and two were discharged.
In a written response, Fenz deputy chief executive Raewyn Bleakley said misconduct of any type, including bullying and harassment, had no place in the organisation.
‘‘Establishing a permanent Behaviour and Conduct Office (BCO) is a fundamental step in addressing bullying and harassment and building a respectful and positive workplace culture in our organisation.’’
It was also implementing a range of initiatives to continue addressing the 33 review recommendations from retired judge Coral Shaw’s 2019 report into bullying and harassment within the organisation.
An interim BCO was created in March 2020, Ms Bleakley said.
‘‘Over the past fourteen months we have been reviewing and changing the way we manage complaints and implementing best practice standards.’’
In April it announced moves to establish a permanent BCO, which, when fully established, would have the following functions: proactively setting standards, providing education, data and intelligence to prevent unwanted behaviour, while responsively and effectively managing complaints to address unwanted behaviour, and working with individuals to restore positive working relationships following a complaint.
‘‘The establishment of the permanent BCO will mean we embed a fair and transparent mechanism for resolving complaints.’’
