A storeman who was sacked by Air New Zealand after a company crackdown on inappropriate internet use has won his job back along with $13,000 in lost wages and compensation.
The Employment Relations Authority has ruled that Tony Wills, who worked at Air New Zealand's Christchurch engineering basefor seven years before being fired in July 2005, was unjustifiably dismissed.
Authority member Paul Montgomery found that Mr Wills had been "insufficiently inducted and briefed" on the airline's internet policies and that his knowledge of them was "sparse and rudimentary".
Mr Wills was caught up in Air New Zealand's crackdown on staff accessing pornography sites and other inappropriate use of company computers. Several staff around the country lost their jobs.
Mr Montgomery accepted Mr Wills' statement at the hearing that as part of his work duties he often logged on to several computers at the same time so he could do "several things more or less at the same time without having to log in and out of different computers".
Mr Wills had denied sharing his password with others, but acknowledged that he'd left his work station logged in under his details while absent on other tasks to allow other staff to access aircraft parts in his absence.
Air New Zealand, Mr Montgomery found, had insufficient evidence that Mr Wills intended to gain access to objectionable sites or that he personally gained access to the sites deliberately.
Air New Zealand's delay in dealing with Mr Wills' case after four other co-workers at the engineering base were sacked was "unreasonable," he determined.
"The notification of his being under investigation some 3 1/2 months following the dismissal of his colleagues undoubtedly heightened the degree of hurt and humiliation," Mr Montgomery said in his decision released this week.
The airline had failed to investigate after being "put on notice" that computers being left logged on, and "access information" being shared, were widespread practices at its Christchurch engineering base.
"Had it done so, a more corrective and educational, not to mention more widespread programme, might have resulted in the retention of Mr Wills and the eradication of a widespread, uncondoned practice," Mr Montgomery said.
