#Fonterra to pay sacked truckie $18,000

Share on twitter
Share on facebook
Share on linkedin
Share on whatsapp
Share on email

Fonterra must pay $18,000 to a former milk tanker driver who was unjustifiably dismissed, but the man won’t get his job back.
Jason Richardson was sacked by the dairy giant in November 2012, just six weeks after starting work there, after it discovered he had failed to disclose eight previous convictions, including for drink-driving, driving while disqualified and theft from a workplace.
Mr Richardson complained to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), which has ruled in his favour.
It accepted his statement that he believed he did not have to disclose his convictions because he thought the «clean slate» law applied to him.
However, because he had been imprisoned, it did not apply.
Fonterra received his criminal conviction record on November 9, a month after Mr Richardson started work, and after a series of meetings, he was fired on November 26 for failing to disclose his past.
Although Mr Richardson became increasingly concerned since starting the job that the clean slate law didn’t apply to him, he failed to raise those concerns with Fonterra, it said.
However, the ERA said Fonterra made the mistake of appointing Mr Richardson unconditionally while waiting for his background check to come through.
That meant an early warning that job applicants could be dismissed if they gave false or misleading information no longer applied.
The authority disagreed with Fonterra’s claim Mr Richardson had «deliberately» withheld his convictions, saying he genuinely believed the clean slate law applied, and relied on his wife’s assurance.
It ruled his dismissal was unjustified, but rejected his claim for reinstatement, saying he would not have got the job in the first place if he had disclosed his convictions.
It ordered Fonterra to pay him $13,152.75 for lost wages and $5250 for hurt and humiliation.
Source. 3News

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

Te puede interesar

Notas
Relacionadas