Mr B argued that K was a casual employee, and therefore he could dismiss her at any point without notice.
Casual employees are workers who are “on-call” and only work when they are needed by an employer. There is no regularity in their hours, and an employer can terminate the casual employment at any time without personal grievance issues arising.
K worked around 40 hours per week every week. She started work at the same time each day. There was even a roster that identified the shifts she would be working each week. She was able to take holiday leave in the normal way and be paid for it. It was clear that K was not a casual employee, but in fact a permanent employee and it followed from this that K had been unjustifiably dismissed by her employer.
If Mr B wished to dismiss K he needed to follow a fair procedure – clearly not the case here .One of the many problems was that Mr B needed to hear and consider K’s side of the story before any decision regarding her dismissal was made – of course he didn’t. Secondly he needed a good reason for dismissing K. Chefs are precluded from working when they are sick, since they prepare food for public consumption. K was fulfilling her professional obligations by not going to work – she could not be dismissed for it.
The employer was ordered to pay K compensation for the dismissal, holiday pay owed, one weeks wages which she did not receive at the time, and a contribution to lost wages between the dismissal and the finding of a new position. All in all, this unjustified dismissal cost the employer in excess of $3000. It is important for employers to understand the difference between casual employees and permanent employees – it could save a lot of money down the track.
For Queenstown readers : in March I will be running a free employment seminar in Queenstown. If you want to register interest in the seminar please e-mail Penny Cloudesley at penny.cloudesley@prlaw.co.nz or ring her at our Queenstown office on 03 450 0000 and we will keep in touch regarding the date.
Casual vs Permanent Employment
K was a chef at a café/bar in Dunedin. On ANZAC day year K was ill, so she sent a text message to the head chef at her workplace and told him she could not start her shift on time. She received a telephone call from him in response which okayed her situation. However, some time later she received a text message from the bar manager (Mr B) at the café which indicated that as she had not bothered to turn up for work she would be dismissed with immediate effect.
