A Northland excavator operator sacked for allegedly stealing diesel from his employer has been awarded $5000 compensation.
Dargaville man Wharepaia John Robb was dismissed from Transfield in November 2010, on the day he was to attend a funeral, after he was found to be using twice as much fuel as a colleague.
He was unable to find work for six months after his dismissal while he cared for his wife, who was terminally ill with cancer.
Transfield's Kaipara roading infrastructure manager Michael Hayes raised the allegations at a disciplinary meeting on November 23 - the day on which he gave Mr Robb a disciplinary letter.
The meeting had been set down for later that week, but Mr Robb insisted it be held that day because he had to leave for a funeral out of town, and was unsure when he would be back.
Mr Robb was shown written records that detailed his diesel purchases compared with his colleague's. They showed he was using two to three times as much diesel as his colleague, no matter which of the two excavators he was operating.
Mr Robb, who had 38 years' experience, said the fuel had gone into the machines, as it always had. He would not admit or deny anything because he did not want to implicate himself.
At a meeting following his return, Mr Robb was still unable to account for where the diesel had gone, and was subsequently dismissed.
The Employment Relations Authority has found Transfield did not act fairly and reasonably and Mr Robb's dismissal was unjustified.
The company did not set out specific allegations in its disciplinary letter; did not provide him with a copy of the information its allegations rested on; and did not advise him in writing his employment could be at risk.
Authority member Rachel Larmer found the company did not undertake a fair or proper investigation, and it was unfair and unreasonable to expect Mr Robb to respond to allegations at the meeting.
"Transfield did not recognise that Mr Robb was likely to have been under some pressure as a result of the bereavement and impending funeral,'' she said.
But she did not accept Mr Robb's explanations for his fuel use, put forward after his dismissal, finding he had contributed to the situation that led to his dismissal.
Mr Robb sought $20,000 compensation for distress, saying he was "gutted'' by his dismissal and had struggled to meet basic costs while caring for his wife.
Ms Larmer found the manner and timing of his dismissal had caused him distress and placed him under serious financial pressure.
"I find that Transfield acted in haste without any sensitivity to Mr Robb's personal situation. It knew that he was about to attend a funeral with his family and it knew that his wife was terminally ill with cancer.''
Ms Larmer found he was understandably hurt and humiliated by his dismissal and awarded $5000 compensation.
