Now Magnum Hire must pay former general manager Dave Parker $137,463 plus bonus and holiday pay for bullying and psychological abuse that left Parker with post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression and anxiety.
Employment Relations Authority (ERA) member Sarah Blick’s determination found Magnum owner and director Liam Field’s behaviour created an unsafe work environment that led to Parker’s unjustified suspension and constructive dismissal.
She made recommendations that Magnum Hire implement a clear bullying and harassment policy and code of conduct that Field agreed to be bound by, an avenue for complaints and reporting of bullying and harassment, and a process for independent investigation.
However, Field told NZME he planned to appeal.
Parker began working at the heavy equipment hire company in Auckland’s Waitākere in 2009 but the poor employment relationship only developed after a co-owner left the company in 2012. The bullying included:
Excessive and unprovoked personal criticism and verbal abuse, including multiple instances of blindsiding Parker in his office, closing the door, and lambasting him with baseless accusations;
Threatening his job security both overtly and impliedly;
Publicly humiliating and denigrating him as incompetent;
Deliberately continuing or escalating abusive behaviour when Parker showed signs of vulnerability or asked Field to stop;
Engaging in manipulative and psychologically abusive behaviour such as denial, obfuscation, and deploying false flattery and false reassurances.
One of Field’s ongoing accusations was that Parker was using work time to work at a family cafe, which Parker repeatedly denied.
Another behaviour was to regularly disparage Parker and blame him for Magnum’s falling profits, making implied threats that it was only a matter of time before Parker would be dismissed.
Other staff including Parker’s daughter testified that Magnum had a “toxic” male-dominated culture and Field set that tone, being “unapproachable”, “rude and verbally aggressive”, and throwing “tantrums” about once a month.
Josie Parker called Field a “bully and a psychopath who does not care for the feelings of anyone else”, and said he went through “cycles of abuse”, picking on employees one week and acting like their best friend the next.
One staff member said he left because he felt “picked on” for no reason, though Field said he’d been making a health and safety point, while another employee said he resigned following episodes of verbal abuse by Field.
A long-term employee, however, said she had never been bullied by Field and had not witnessed him bullying Parker.
Outside of work, Field belittled Parker at a rugby club when he called him a “lemon”, the ERA was told.
From 2019 the abuse ramped up, coinciding with a downturn in Magnum’s turnover.
On Parker’s birthday in September 2019, Field demanded the general manager who was by then earning $180,000 a year plus bonuses, be at work at 7.30am the next day for a “serious meeting” because his job was “in jeopardy”.
At the meeting, Field told Parker he’d lost faith in him because he was regularly leaving work early, which Parker said was untrue and unfair.
In March 2020, when Parker mentioned Field had scared staff that morning in the way he approached a meeting about Covid-19, Field responded loudly: “That’s f****** bull****... bull****... absolute s***”.
Field told the authority he had to pay some of Magnum’s rent from his own pocket and sell machinery to keep the business going and it was a stressful period.
He and other witnesses told the authority Parker himself bullied or threatened other staff and had criminal gang affiliations.
Blick said there was no evidence allegations about Parker’s behaviour were raised with him.
Parker denied being a patched gang member but acknowledged an association with a late friend who had also been a client of Magnum and Field.
In mid-2021 Parker became unwell and went on sick leave and by September a CT scan showed he had developed an abscess on his small intestine that had attached to the bladder and made a hole through it.
Dave Parker proved constructive dismissal from Magnum Hire but director Liam Field says he will appeal.
Blick said Parker’s wife gave compelling evidence that Field’s constant berating of Parker “wholly contributed” to her husband’s deteriorating mental and physical wellbeing at the same time the bullying “picked up a notch”.
She believed Parker’s major heart issues were brought on by stress resulting in surgery for stents and that the gut abscess was brought on by the constant worry about his future.
Three days after the surgery as Parker recovered at home, Field subjected him to a tirade on the phone calling him “useless” and saying it was his fault the company was losing money and his job was on the line.
It led to such a massive panic attack that Parker ruptured the surgical incision in his lower abdomen causing significant bleeding and requiring medical attention.
Field told the authority he genuinely needed to hire a chief executive, though this never transpired.
Parker worked from home for the next three weeks until October 8 when his surgeon advised he needed to continue working from home with an open wound.
Field informed Parker his job required he work from the office, another employee was handling his duties and Parker’s phone calls would be transferred to him.
“...when you are able to do all the duties that are required we can resume normal operating procedure, just sit back and relax and get better.”
Blick said this amounted to suspension without consultation.
Parker hired a lawyer and following unsuccessful mediation and Magnum’s own lawyers beginning an investigation into Parker’s allegations of bullying, he resigned in December 2021.
Blick found Field’s treatment of Parker was bullying because it was repeated, unreasonable, and led to psychological and physical harm.
She said Magnum was clearly aware of it because it was perpetrated by its director and owner.
Field said the behaviour was not meant like that but Blick said it was not a requirement that the perpetrator intended to cause harm for behaviours to amount to bullying.
She concluded the bullying should have been foreseeable and Magnum did nothing to protect Parker, meaning it failed to provide a safe workplace.
Blick also agreed Field’s refusal to allow Parker to work from home was a suspension that caused an unjustified disadvantage and that his resignation was a constructive dismissal caused by Magnum’s breaches of its duty.
She awarded $50,000 for disadvantage, $50,000 for constructive dismissal, $5000 for suspension, $32,463 in lost income and a $1000 penalty.
Magnum would also have to pay a $3000 penalty to the Crown, some bonus and holiday pay, and an undetermined amount for psychologist fees.
Field said he would appeal and could not comment further.
