A woman who worked at a Dunedin police cafe was unjustifiably fired after being accused of chopping parsley incorrectly.
Photo: 123RF
Karen Smith took her case to the Employment Relations Authority, seeking damages for humiliation and loss of dignity.
She was working in the kitchen in July 2016 when she was approached by her boss, Scott McCreamor.
He said Ms Smith was using a 16-inch knife to cut parsley on a chopping block positioned between two benches, and there was no solid surface supporting a majority of the block.
Mr McCreanor said that when asked what she was doing, she said: "Chopping parsley".
He added that she was unable to justify her actions for chopping the parsley incorrectly.
Mr McCreanor noted the incident in his diary, and sought advice from his laywer.
The next day, Ms Smith worked as usual, but was given a letter setting out an allegation of serious misconduct and deliberate disregard of health and safety policy.
However, the authority found that Mr McCreanor did not appear to have health and safety guidelines or a policy for the cafe. Instead he relied on a contractor safety induction provded by the New Zealand Police.
The court found Mr McCreanor was not justified in dismissing Ms Smith.
She said that losing her job was very stressful, and in her 20-year career she had not been accused of misconduct.
The court found she had a valid personal grievance against Mr McCreanor, and awarded her costs of $9700 - for loss of wages and as compensation for humiliation and loss of dignity.
