Labour Court upholds ruling of unfair dismissal

Press, 28 December 1989, Page 5

Labour Court upholds ruling of unfair dismissal

PA Wellington The Auckland Labour Court has upheld a personal grievance committee ruling that a practice nurse was unjustifiably dismissed by the doctor in charge. Dr Rhys Cullen appealed the decision of the committee, which awarded Mrs Shirley Wyatt $4386.76 for lost pay and $2OOO compensation for humiliation, injury to feelings and emotional stress.

Judge Travis said Mrs Wyatt was a registered nurse and midwife with more than 17 years nursing experience. She had worked with Dr Cullen for about 15 months at the urgent medical surgery before he approached her about working for him in a practice clinic he was opening. As the practice nurse, she did a wide range of work.

Judge Travis said differences of opinion arose between the two over the use of a receptionist with no nursing training to do dressings and other medical tasks under Dr Cullen’s direction.

Mrs Wyatt contacted the Nurses’ Union and

also spoke to a Health Department public health nurse about it.

In December last year Dr Cullen called a staff meeting after hearing gossip concerning certain personal matters. He believed Mrs Wyatt was the source of the gossip and hoped the meeting would resolve the position, that she would apologise, and that that would be the end of the matter.

On arriving at work, Mrs Wyatt was told of the meeting and that Dr Cullen wanted a union representative present. “This request by Dr Cullen for a union representative to be present led, we believe, to a confusion at the meeting between the parties as to the meeting’s purpose,” Judge Travis said. Mrs Wyatt and the union thought it concerned Mrs Wyatt’s complaints on the use of the receptionist for nursing tasks, while Dr Cullen intended to discuss the rumours and extract an apology from Mrs Wyatt for allegedly spreading them.

“With these cross-pur-poses at the outset it is not surprising that the meeting took a most unfortunate turn,” Judge

Travis said. He said Dr Cullen raised the rumours in a confrontational manner which produced a response from the union on Mrs Wyatt’s concerns. The meeting became more heated until Dr Cullen told Mrs Wyatt she was sacked for professional misconduct. He pointed to the union representative and said . “and you’ve just lost her her job.” He then “stormed out of the room” and declined any further contact with the union. Judge Travis said the Court shared the committee’s view that Mrs Wyatt was sacked mainly because Dr Cullen held her responsible for the rumours, and that she was not given the opportunity to either confirm or deny that she was the source of the rumours. The dismissal was therefore procedurally unfair, but rather than dismiss the appeal, the Court felt it more appropriate to decline Dr Cullen leave to appeal. He turned down a union request to raise the compensation already fixed and ordered Dr Cullen to pay the union $5OO towards the union’s costs.