A Queenstown team leader who lashed out at his managers over workplace changes has been awarded $10,000 after being wrongfully sacked.
In September 2023, Veolia Queenstown, which provides high-quality water and wastewater services, terminated the Spiral Wound Pipe (SWP) team leader Simon Trail’s employment contract after complaints from two of his managers.
However, after Mr Trail took the matter to the Employment Relations Authority, it ruled the termination was unjustified.
Mr Trail worked for Veolia since 2017. Throughout his employment significant changes were made to the SWP team which impacted his work.
In 2023, problems arose between Mr Trail, the business growth and operational lead Jekabs Rozitis, and a manager, who has name supression.
The SWP team was undergoing changes, and the manager was put in a leadership position in his team.
Mr Trail said the frequent questioning by the manager was "doing his head in". Restructuring of the company had increased his workload.
He was put in charge of "upskilling" the manager.
Multiple incidents of disrespectful behaviour by Mr Trail to others in the company then occurred.
In May 2023, Mr Trail made an employee of Veolia cry after speaking to her on the phone and he was told "disrespectful behaviour towards staff would not be tolerated".
On July 6, a phone call between Mr Trail and Mr Rozitis became heated.
Mr Rozitis told Mr Trail to get his "head out of your arse", and changes would be happening, while Mr Trail "spoke openly with a raised voice".
The phone call between the pair led to a disciplinary meeting, in which Mr Rozitis was both the complainant and decision-maker, and Mr Trail was given a written warning.
On August 11, the manager spoke to Mr Rozitis about her frustration with having to work with Mr Trail. She told him she felt "undermined" and "belittled".
On August 24, the manager said in an email to Mr Rozitis that Mr Trail said "it’s a disaster on site and nobody knows what they are doing".
On August 25, Mr Trail was pulled into a meeting and was stood down with full pay pending investigation into the manager’s complaints.
In Mr Trail’s response, he said he did not feel supported and had told the manager this.
He was responsible for upskilling the manager and the constant questioning he was getting from them was exhausting.
When Mr Rozitis reviewed his response, he found it to be "largely an exercise in Mr Trail finding people to blame".
On September 6, Mr Trail was called into another disciplinary meeting where he was told by Veolia he "sought to deflect, blame others, and make excuses" and he had "no willingness to change".
On September 7, Mr Trail’s employment was terminated.
The ERA ruled the termination was unjustified because Mr Rozitis was both the complainant and decision-maker in the first complaint, there was no investigation done by Mr Rozitis, just acceptance that everything happened as he remembered it.
The ERA determined Mr Rozitis had "predetermined the outcome".
It quantified the loss and harm caused to Mr Trail at $20,000 but reduced the payout by 50% because of his contribution to the events.
The company was also ordered to pay him six and a-half weeks of ordinary time remuneration.
