A Northland runanga board hit with "staggering" employment dispute costs received poor advice from its disciplinary committee, the board's new chair says.
The Employment Relations Authority has found that Te Runanga o Whaingaroa mishandled the dismissal of then CEO Melanie Catanuto last September and ordered it to pay Mrs Catanuto lost remuneration from last September and $12,000 in distress compensation.
New board chairman Allen Heta said the runanga treatment of Mrs Catanuto was influenced by its disciplinary sub committee.
However, a board member did not pass on information from the runanga's legal counsel to the sub-committee - information that could have changed the trust's decisions, Mr Heta said.
"This information is critical to a board or an employer in moving on, and ensuring that it makes the correct decisions, being guided by counsel. This board is absolutely stunned that such crucial information was withheld," he said.
"They at no time presented any sound legal advice/ correspondence given by counsel to the board."
Runanga board member Norm McKenzie was singled out by ERA member Rachel Larmer as an influence on the sub-committee members, who Ms Larmer said had not understood the information Mr McKenzie had based his decisions on.
Mr McKenzie declined to comment.
"The [runanga] board has yet to meet and when it does it may decide to appeal the decision as an option, that should not be prejudiced by public comment at this stage. I will wait until the board has formally met and decided the next steps before I [if needed] make any comments," he said.
Mr Heta said the impact of the costs for the small trust was "absolutely staggering".
The board was now publicly facing up to the shame of its bad decisions, he said.
"The aftershock of this event will travel down the passage ways of history for many years," Mr Heta said.