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A supposedly difficult employee will receive $ 31,750 after he was fired with no opportunity to correct his behavior.
The Christchurch Labor Relations Authority ordered Insight NZ to pay former employee Todd Longson $ 15,000 for wrongful termination, as well as compensation of $ 16,750 for three months of lost wages.
Longson worked as a community residential support worker for Insight NZ from 2010 until his dismissal in January of last year.
Authority member Philip Cheyne said Insight NZ destroyed its employment relationship with Longson without giving it a chance to address the company’s concerns.
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“The difficulty for Insight NZ is that a fair and reasonable employer could not have concluded that Longson’s behavior had become ‘unmanageable’ enough to destroy the employment relationship,” Cheyne said.
Brooke Lark / Unsplash
Healthcare company Insight NZ says former employee Todd Longson had trouble taking orders from women (File photo).
Longson lost his job as a care support worker after allegedly yelling at a colleague in a nursing home.
According to Insight NZ, Longson raised his voice and acted in an intimidating manner towards a colleague in the house during the delivery on November 28.
He denied the accusation, but a day after the incident, the sole resident of the home texted Cara Stewart, Longson’s manager, saying he heard Longson’s raised voice.
Stewart called Longson to set up a meeting to discuss the incidents, but Longson declined to meet with her and chose to contact Insight NZ owner Rebecca Knowles.
Stewart told the authority that Longson had also raised her voice during the call and she hung up after feeling intimidated. Longson denied that he had raised his voice at all.
Knowles called Longson on November 30 and, according to his testimony to the authority, raised his voice again and spoke above his boss.
A week after the initial incident, Knowles emailed Longson saying he was seeking legal advice on the incidents.
When Longson responded by saying that he had sought help with mediation, Knowles told him that the problem had progressed beyond mediation and that there should be a formal disciplinary meeting to investigate the allegations of serious misconduct.
When the meeting was finally held in January 2019, Longson was closely questioned about past behavior as well as the November incidents.
Three days after the meeting, Longson was officially fired.
In a letter announcing Insight NZ’s decision, Knowles’ attorney said the company believed Longson’s behavior “destroyed the trust and security necessary for the employment relationship to continue in any way.”
In evidence provided to the authority, Knowles said Longson had difficulty receiving orders from women.
Supplied
Labor Relations Authority member Philip Cheyne says Insight NZ was not justified in firing former care worker Todd Longson.
However, Insight NZ never told Longson that this was a problem, Cheyne said.
The company also had not raised concerns about past behavior prior to the January disciplinary meeting, Cheyne said.
Longson’s conduct on Nov. 28-30 toward his colleague, manager and boss, while unacceptable, could not reasonably be considered a serious misconduct that entitles Insight NZ to terminate his employment without notice, Cheyne said.
“The concern that Longson had difficulty receiving instruction from women is something that could reasonably have been raised through a performance appraisal process,” Cheyne said.
“The intimidating effect experienced by colleagues and managers caused by their size, tone and mannerisms could also have been increased. These steps could have maintained a productive employment relationship. “
Costs reserved.
