By MATHEW DEARNALEY
A general manager who complained of relentless bullying by a worker after being seen dumping R18 videos has won almost $40,000 in damages.
Hugh Thomas McGowan sued Auckland textile firm Nutype Accessories for making him resign in 2001 by reducing his responsibilities and not protecting him from former
union representative Brian "Taffy" Rosser.
He recorded an alleged 72 abusive remarks by Mr Rosser, which Nutype's Chinese executives claimed not to know the meaning of, including the word "pervert".
Other alleged remarks which he told the Employment Court of included "you disgusting bastard" and "you're f ... disgusting, dead man".
This followed accusations by his former partner about the use of photographic images of her, leading to searches of company computers under High Court orders, compounded by the discovery of R18 videos in a rubbish skip outside Nutype's East Tamaki premises.
He said he dumped these early one morning after finding them at home after his break-up with the woman.
But he was seen by a worker, who retrieved them from the skip.
Mr Rosser, a weaver said by the Employment Court to be a large and forthright Welshman, then allegedly started abusing the slightly built manager until he quit his job in desperation.
The Employment Relations Authority ruled that Mr McGowan was not forced to resign by intolerable conditions.
But the court disagreed, awarding him $39,888 compensation and lost income.
Judge Coral Shaw found the company seriously breached a duty to provide safe working conditions and did not accept its executives knew too little English to recognise the abuse.
They were astute business people who deliberately ignored "this serious undermining of the general manager by a production worker".
Other staff tolerated the abuse because they thought Mr McGowan had been involved in internet pornography.
She was satisfied managing director Henry Tang knew about it, although he denied his only response to Mr McGowan's complaints until eventually giving Mr Rosser warnings was to call that man a "crazy guy".
"Bullying can be insidious, but in this case it occurred under the noses of management - it rendered Mr McGowan powerless through constant humiliation," she said.
The company eventually heard that nothing untoward was found on its computers, and legal action against Mr McGowan had been withdrawn, but did not tell staff and maintained humiliating restrictions on his internet access.
Its lawyer, Paul Wicks, said it may challenge Judge Shaw's decision in the Court of Appeal.
Mr Rosser, from whom the company did not call evidence despite still employing him, told the Herald that although he abused Mr McGowan he did not make some of the alleged remarks.
"I'm 68 and of an age where that is not the kind of comment I am used to - I am not a prude but there are certain acts I don't approve of."
He denied testimony by Mr McGowan that he grabbed him and pushed him into a wall in 2000.
By MATHEW DEARNALEY
A general manager who complained of relentless bullying by a worker after being seen dumping R18 videos has won almost $40,000 in damages.
Hugh Thomas McGowan sued Auckland textile firm Nutype Accessories for making him resign in 2001 by reducing his responsibilities and not protecting him from former
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