Dairy farm worker who grew cannabis in accommodation compensated for unfair sacking

A dairy farm worker who admitted growing cannabis in his accommodation, but denied he was stoned on the job, has successfully proved his sacking wasn't handled fairly and properly . Photo / NZME

An aggrieved dairy farm worker who grew cannabis in his worker accommodation but denied claims by his boss he was stoned on the job has been awarded almost $20,000 in remedies after he was sacked less than a year after his employment began.

The award might have been higher, had it not been for the part that Forbes Minto played in the events that eventually led to him losing his job.

Contract sharemilker Richard Wedd employed Minto to help run the dairy farm owned by a third party.

Each openly confirmed to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) that they were social cannabis users and that Wedd knew this of Minto when he employed him.

Wedd said he only used cannabis with Minto outside of work hours, the recent ruling stated.

Minto worked on the property from October 2020 after relocating his young family from a different part of the country, until August 2021, when matters on the farm came to a head.

He claimed he was disadvantaged in his employment when Wedd suspended him without pay and that he was unjustifiably dismissed hours later on the same day.

Wedd denied suspending Minto and said the dismissal was justified. He said Minto resigned and that the dismissal was to ensure the employment was terminated.

The sacked worker has now been awarded almost $20,000 for the unfair dismissal. Photo / Getty Images

The ERA’s job in determining the outcome was made more challenging by what it described as the dispute having played out against a backdrop of a long-term familial type of relationship between the pair, who have known each other for more than 30 years.

The decision said Minto had lived with Wedd and his family for a short time as a young teen.

Minto’s employment agreement, based on a template prepared by Federated Farmers of New Zealand, included a drug and alcohol policy that included the prohibited use or involvement with non-prescription drugs at work and in the accommodation.

Minto, in openly acknowledging he grew cannabis for his own use at the accommodation, breached the employment agreement that he signed.

Things unravelled when on August 20, 2021, Minto was off work sick, but then worked the next couple of days either because he felt pressured or because he chose to in order to get work done, the decision said.

On the morning of August 23, Wedd claimed Minto was impaired by cannabis, having arrived at this conclusion after seeing him struggle with the operation of a magnesium spreader.

Wedd also claimed to have smelled cannabis on Minto and did not believe he was ill.

Minto’s partner told the ERA that he was impaired not by cannabis but by illness. She said the whole family had been battling cold-like symptoms and that Minto was the last in their family to get sick after she and their young children.

Tensions increased when Wedd said he was upping Minto’s rent from $50 to $200 per week.

Wedd’s motives were driven “out of frustration” because Minto was “avoiding the concerns he was trying to raise with him about his alleged drug use”, Wedd told the authority.

The ERA noted that by the end of the employment, no rent had been deducted from Minto’s pay throughout his employment, and rent arrears were not sought.

Minto was off work until August 27, with a doctor’s certificate which included advice to isolate and take a Covid-19 test, given the symptoms described over the phone.

On the same day Minto left work, claiming he was unwell following a lunchtime meeting, Wedd became aware through a relative that he had posted a social media photo of dried cannabis with a single line saying, “Lock down sussed. hmu [hit me up].”

Minto accepted the post was his and the cannabis in the photo was his but said it was a small amount and that he wasn’t selling it.

Despite a doctor’s suggestion that Minto needed to be in isolation, pending the results of a Covid test, he agreed to meet Wedd as requested, who said he’d been placed in a “serious position” due to the post.

After some back-and-forth communication, Minto was handed a dismissal letter, telling him his employment had ended immediately because of what Wedd claimed was serious misconduct and that the accommodation was to be vacated within 14 days.

At some stage after the meeting and before Minto was handed the letter he posted a Snapchat video he was alleged to have known would be seen by Wedd’s relatives, whom he understood had told Wedd about the earlier social media photo of his cannabis.

In it, he pulled the middle finger and said: “F*** you little narks. Social media is a beautiful thing … Covid test today boss, somebody let him know please seen as I’m suspended without pay and immediately for my drug empire [sic].”

Wedd believed Minto was stoned in the video but the ERA said there was no reliable evidence to prove this and that he could equally be suffering from cold symptoms or was tired or both.

However, his “demeanour” on the video was no joke, as he had claimed, and it had only made things worse, the decision stated.

Member Antoinette Baker said Minto’s manner was aggressive and retaliatory and not just aimed at Wedd’s relatives but at Wedd himself.

“Mr Wedd’s actions have not been admirable but I can understand him having a humanly negative reaction to this type of post directed at his young relatives,” Baker said.

Minto’s family quickly found temporary accommodation and within two weeks he found temporary work on another farm which resulted in a permanent position.

A family spokesperson told NZME that Minto had been stressed by the whole ordeal and it had taken a toll on his mental health.

“He is happy with the [ERA] decision but embarrassed it had to go this far,” they said.

“He’s spent the last 15 months building his confidence and getting his name back within the community, and he is keen to just move forward from here.”

Wedd could not be reached for comment.

The ERA ultimately found he had not followed fair processes and procedures and ordered he pay Minto $10,200 in compensation, $6156 in unpaid wages and $3375 in costs.