A cold-caller who rang back an interview subject to demand why they hung up on her was unfairly dismissed, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled.
Orchid Ottulugia had appealed to the authority over her dismissal from market research company Roy Morgan New Zealand Ltd.
She said her sacking
was unjustified, and sought compensation for lost wages and hurt feelings.
Ms Ottulugia was employed as a call centre worker, whose job was to randomly call telephone numbers and interview the respondents.
She admitted that, after one respondent had hung up on her, she had rung back to ask why. She did this because the respondent had been rude to her, she told the authority.
The company said she also had hung up on at least four other respondents. She had been instructed that such discourteous behaviour could damage Roy Morgan's reputation.
The authority ruled her dismissal was unjustified, as the company did not give her an opportunity to offer an explanation for her actions. It awarded her $2000 and reimbursement of two months' wages but, because her conduct contributed, she was entitled to only half.
- NZPA
