A Tauranga retirement complex has been found to have unjustifiably dismissed an employee based on "unchallenged gossip" from secret complainants.
In a decision released by the Employment Relations Authority, Bob Owens Retirement Village was found at fault for not properly investigating complaints resulting in the dismissal of caregiver Alana Brown or giving her a chance to respond.
The decision stated the essence of the case for Ms Brown was that Bob Owens conducted no inquiry at all "and simply relied on the secret statements of six colleagues".
"When pressed ... the impression the authority was left with was that Bob Owens' focus was on ensuring that there was no collusion between the complainants rather than actually investigating what the complainants were alleging."
Ms Brown was accused of hitting residents, stealing and intimidating staff. The latter issue was referred to as the reason why the complainants chose to remain anonymous, the decision stated.