Sacked Fuji Xerox New Zealand managing director Gavin Pollard claims he's been made a scapegoat by the Japanese parent over the unit's dodgy accounting and overpayment of sales commissions and is fighting to get his job back.
Pollard's bid for an interim reinstatement ahead of a full hearing in the Employment Relations Authority was turned down by authority member Vicki Campbell in a recently published September 4 determination. Campbell found there's an arguable case Pollard was unjustifiably dismissed, but that the case for permanent reinstatement was weak and that the balance of convenience was against an interim return "given the lack of trust and confidence held in him by senior executives (with whom he will be required to work closely) and the shareholders of FXNZ."
A substantive hearing will be held next month, and Campbell was satisfied Fuji Xerox was in a position to pay any compensation if Pollard was successful.
Pollard had been Fuji Xerox New Zealand's general manager of national sales operations between 2012 and 2015 before he was appointed to the MD role in April 2015, replacing Neil Whittaker who had shifted to Australia.
Not long after his promotion the Japanese parent was alerted by a whisteblower to inappropriate accounting practices at the New Zealand unit, which were confirmed by an independent audit that identified possible fraud that took place when Pollard was part of the executive team as GM sales.