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A Dunedin bus driver who was unlawfully dismissed after detouring home to use her toilet has been awarded more than $22,000.
In a judgement released today, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruled Fiona Scott was deliberately forced out of her job at Ritchies Transport Holdings Ltd.
The company was ordered to pay her $12,870 in lost wages and $10,000 for “loss of dignity and injury to feelings due to the abrupt cessation of shifts”.
Ms Scott signed a casual employment agreement with Ritchies in December 2022, plugging holes in the roster.
By August the following year, David Gordon was appointed depot manager.
Ms Scott told the ERA at a hearing in March that she had previously worked under him and felt “intimidated”.
“She perceived Mr Gordon as having an unreasonably negative perception of her”, the authority heard, but the manager said that was far from the case.
For the remainder of 2023, Ms Scott averaged more than 100 hours of work a fortnight and towards the end of the year, she was offered a permanent contract.
The driver declined, explaining she was worried about the potential impacts of the 90-day legislation (not included in the contract offer) and that she enjoyed the flexibility of being a casual employee.
Mr Gordon said the attempt to make Ms Scott a permanent staff member was because he understood she was simultaneously working for another transport provider.
However, ERA member William Fussey said that work had ceased by then.
After Ms Scott’s contract rejection, the hours offered to her over the first quarter of 2024 dropped dramatically.
When she emailed the company’s HR department to highlight that, she received the response: “We cannot have you working regular hours on a casual contract as this is illegal.”
Mr Fussey said the reply was telling.
“[It] clearly shows that Ritchies was concerned Ms Scott’s employment had evolved to permanent status,” he said in his ruling.
Matters came to a head on March 23, 2024 when Ms Scott was driving the Balaclava-Logan Park bus.
Instead of completing the route by finishing at the Opoho terminus, she bypassed the final two stops and headed to her home in Normanby to use the toilet and check on her pets.
During the authority hearing, she explained Opoho had no toilets and she was expected to drive to the central Dunedin depot to got to the bathroom.
Ms Scott said the facilities there were “filthy” and argued the foam soap was ineffective in removing diesel from her hands.
Once her unapproved detour was discovered, Mr Gordon invited her to a disciplinary meeting, after which she was given a written warning.
Mr Fussey said the way Ritchies dealt with the process was procedurally fair and reasonable.
However, after that point, Ms Scott was offered no further shifts.
By July she was unable to even access the app on which drivers viewed the roster.
While Ritchies claimed the timing of the disciplinary meeting and Ms Scott being shouldered out was coincidental, Mr Fussey inferred the timing was “deliberate”.
He said the evidence showed the driver had worked “extensively and consistently” for the company.
“Ms Scott was a permanent employee with a legitimate ongoing expectation for work. Ritchies’ failure to continue providing shifts amounted to a dismissal,” Mr Fussey said.