Air NZ ordered to pay flight attendant for lost tie-pin

Air New Zealand has been ordered to pay a flight attendant for the cost of a lost tie-pin following an 18-month legal wrangle.

Dale Kiely lost the gold tie-pin during a flight to Tonga in October 2005 and applied to his employer to have the estimated $490 cost of it reimbursed.

Contract clauses regarding what accessories were considered necessary and reasonable by staff on flights were investigated by both sides of the dispute, with Air New Zealand deciding it shouldn't be required to replace such an expensive item.

The airline said it was acceptable to wear a tie-pin and to cover its cost if it was lost during a plane journey through reasons other than negligence.

But it said it was only prepared to do so if the pin was worth $100 or less.

Clauses were further dissected by the parties and passed on to the Employment Relations Authority, which found it was reasonable for Mr Kiely to be wearing the gold pin and that the airline should reimburse him.

The dispute may well continue as Mr Kiely has 14 days from the publication of the decision to make a claim for the cost of seeking the reimbursement.

- NZPA