$8000 for ACC worker sacked over sick father

ACC has been ordered to pay $8000 compensation to a former employee it dismissed for not turning up to work in the period when she was at her father's deathbed.

The woman, Georgia Choveaux, also claimed that the agency failed to provide her with a safe workplace, after offensive emails mentioning her were sent to the chief executive and others.

The Employment Relations Authority has not upheld that part of her complaint, saying ACC had taken all practicable steps to provide a healthy and safe environment for her.

Ms Choveaux was pursuing a personal grievance with ACC over the e-mails when her father was found to be as terminally ill.

She travelled to Dunedin to be with him and ACC later terminated her employment, citing abandonment.

In his ruling on the case, authority member Greg Wood says Ms Choveaux's manager Tim Boyd-Wilson was the target of "disturbing emails", which were sent from outside ACC but probably written by an employee.

Ms Choveaux was mentioned in the emails or referred to indirectly.

ACC tried to find the first email's sender and hired a firm to investigate.

But a forensic consultant concluded little could be done without a court order.

A second email was then sent to the chief executive.

Ms Choveaux was unhappy with the ACC's level of investigation. She later contacted the firm herself.

She left work on September 7 and hired a lawyer to deal with her grievance.

Her lawyer later informed ACC that her father was terminally ill and ACC agreed to give her special leave.

Later, she called her manager to explain her continued absence but it appeared he did not pass the message on to the ACC staff member she had been asked to contact.

After issuing warnings through her lawyer, ACC terminated her employment in November, saying she had been absent without notice or approval.

Her father died the day after she became aware of the dismissal.

She asked to be reinstated but ACC declined to do so.

Its response conveyed "no compassion", Mr Wood said.

He ruled Ms Choveaux should be compensated for being dismissed "at the very time when a fair and reasonable employer would have been supportive of her".

He said $10,000 was an appropriate sum, but reduced it to $8000 because Ms Choveaux had "contributed to the situation that gave rise to the grievance".

He also ordered ACC to pay her $1619 in lost wages.

However, he ruled that she had not been unjustifiably disadvantaged by ACC's response to the e-mails, which it had investigated.

"I am satisfied that ACC was supportive of Ms Choveaux."

- © Fairfax NZ News