Trawlerman unjustly sacked over drugs

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A leading New Zealand fishing company has been ordered to pay one of its former workers $20,000 after it wrongly sacked him for using drugs at sea.

Karl Browne has had his name cleared after the Employment Relations Authority found a drugs investigation by Talley's was "extremely unfair".

The authority has ordered Talley's to pay Mr Browne $20,000 for hurt and humiliation as well as seven months' lost pay and bonuses.

Talley's has also been ordered to pay $2500 to the Crown for breaching good faith obligations as an employer.

"The way Talley's treated Mr Browne was extremely unfair. It accused him of misconduct amounting to serious criminal offending, but failed to provide specific details of its allegations," authority member Rachel Larmer found.

Ms Larmer said Talley's "failed to ask obvious questions of its witnesses and made no attempt to follow up obvious lines of inquiry, despite having engaged the services of a private investigator".

Mr Browne was employed as a factory hand on Talley's deep sea vessel the Enterprise in 2009 before some workers approached management about the use of drugs at sea. One crew member identified Mr Browne and others.

Talley's hired drug dogs to search the Enterprise. The dogs indicated traces of drugs on bags belonging to Mr Browne and several other workers.

Evidence before the authority showed the drugs dogs could have been picking up on "drugs odour" from another person who may have handled Mr Browne's bag.

Despite no drugs or drug paraphernalia being found, Mr Browne and other colleagues were interviewed and Mr Browne was indefinitely suspended before being asked to resign.

Talley's believed it had the right to sack Mr Browne because it believed he had used drugs or had drugs on board the Enterprise.

Mr Browne took his case to the Employment Relations Authority which has since found in his favour.

Ms Larmer said she had read 350 pages of evidence, heard from 15 witnesses and received nine affidavits.

"After listening to the numerous witnesses and carefully reviewing the voluminous material, I am satisfied there was no such evidence."

The ERA said Mr Browne felt like he had been facing a "David and Goliath situation" and was bewildered and frustrated with the way he had been treated.

Ms Larmer also said Mr Browne "had been unable to face his 10-year-old daughter because of the shame he felt ..." and had been unable to financially support her.

Mr Browne thanked his family.

"If it wasn't for my family, I wouldn't have been able to get there."

He plans to take his girlfriend on holiday with some of the money awarded to him and is glad the whole saga is over.

The amount of lost pay and bonuses is to be determined by Mr Browne and Talley's.