Whakatāne worker fired while on vacation earns $ 15,000

A Whakatāne woman who was laid off while on vacation received a large pay from the Labor Relations Authority.

Hoof Camp Saddlery was ordered to fork out $ 15,000 to former employee Michelle Bradley, who was fired from her position while on her way home from a vacation in England with her partner.

The retail sales assistant was sitting at the Singapore airport on August 1, 2019 when she received a message from her boss, Kathryn Cook.

In a Facebook message, Cook told Bradley that there would be no work for her when she returned.

Bradley said she was surprised and upset when she received the message, which said her hours had been given to another employee.

Cook’s message said business had been “pretty quiet” and that it was cutting shares for a sale in September.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t have work available for you when you get back. Come in and we can have coffee and tell me all about your trip.”

Bradley responded, saying the news was a “really unpleasant” way to end the vacation.

Cook said the other employee who occupied Bradley’s hours was eager to keep them and had “stepped up.”

Cook argued that Bradley’s employment was casual and, as such, his job could be terminated if no more work was available.

Bradley said she was employed part-time permanently, and authority member Anna Fitzgibbon agreed.

At the same time, Cook, the sole manager of the saddlery, said there were performance issues with Bradley’s job.

In an email to Bradley, he said that he had given him a verbal warning regarding a customer complaint and that they had received two “more serious” customer complaints while Bradley was away.

Cook said that due to performance issues and the casual basis of Bradley’s employment, she was justified in not keeping Bradley’s job for herself.

In April 2019, Cook requested a meeting with Bradley to discuss performance issues.

However, Bradley was unaware that this was a disciplinary meeting and no warnings were issued, verbal or written.

Bradley worked for the company from early August 2018 to August 1, 2019, the day he received the message.

The duo tried to resolve the issues in mediation sessions before the hearing, but the meetings were unsuccessful.

In the determination, Fitzgibbon said Cook could have informed Bradley at the time that since she was a casual employee, there may or may not be work for her when she returned.

Fitzgibbon said the firing was unjustified and ordered Hoof Camp to pay $ 15,000 for “damage and humiliation” within 21 days.