Chang, at the time, also decided to sell his own shares and informed his co-owners.
The following April, Chang was called to a meeting and told he was removed as a World TV director and dismissed from the company.
Chang claimed he was unjustifiably sacked and went to the ERA seeking money owing under his contract.
World TV disputed this and argued it did not owe him any money.
Chang's termination letter, according to the ERA's decision, alleged he had demonstrated an unfair attitude to some key staff that meant they considered resigning.
The letter also claimed he had made poor decisions, had shown a lack of leadership - and that his behaviour had caused damage to the interest of the firm.
It also said that because Chang had indicated he wished to sell his shares, he was incompatible as a director and senior employee of World TV.
ERA member Nicola Craig said in her decision that the termination letter took an "almost scattergun approach" and found that Chang wanting to sell his shares in World TV was the main reason for his dismissal.
She also said that it wasn't a redundancy situation.
"I do not need to make a finding on whether Mr Chang's behaviour was sufficiently serious to justify a dismissal. I find that World TV put up with Mr Chang's behaviour until there was another reason to take action, in this case Mr Chang's intention to sell his shares, which motivated the company to act.
"Even if there were issues they were performance ones about which Mr Chang needed to be put through a proper process and that had not occurred," Craig said in her decision.
Craig said the way in which Chang was informed of his dismissal "could be seen as an ambush".
Chang was not invited to bring anyone to the meeting with him and was not told what it was about in advance.
World TV's actions were not fair and reasonable and Craig found that Chang's dismissal was unjustified.
Although Chang claimed a year of lost salary, Craig said an award of six months was appropriate and ordered World TV pay him $30,000.
Chang, while at World TV, received 7 per cent of the company's advertising revenue as commission. Craig awarded him $132,706 for six months' loss of future commissions after his dismissal.
Craig also ordered World TV to pay $289,231 in commission which Chang was owed from between February 2014 and March 2016. She also found that Chang was entitled to five per cent of the media company's before-tax profit for the 2016 financial year.
Chang also claimed $25,000 in compensation from World TV for humiliation, saying he was "absolutely shocked" by his dismissal and that it came as a complete surprise.
He felt he had lost status in the community because of it and that his health had suffered as a result.
"In some ways Mr Chang presented a stoic person," Craig said in her decision.
"However, I am satisfied that the dismissal, and the manner in which it was carried out, had a very significant and damaging impact upon him.
"World TV was an organisation which he had played a significant part in establishing. It was a company which had a ground breaking role in bringing Asian television to New Zealand. Mr Chang had helped lead it for over 15 years. As a media organisation, it is very integrated with the Asian communities in New Zealand," Craig said.
She awarded him $17,000 in compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity or injury to feeling.
Chang and World TV have both been approached for comment.
