Kiwi ERA; Not our problem, but yours

This story from New Zealand ought to be a lesson, but we're not betting on it;

Restaurant owners found to have wrongfully sacked a chef they suspected was stoned at work have been left "disillusioned" by the Employment Relations Authority process.

.... the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ruled that Mr Tierney was unjustifiably dismissed because the Pablecheques breached minimum standards of procedural fairness. He has been awarded $6000 in compensation.

"Despite Mr and Mrs Pablecheque's insistence at the investigation meeting that intoxication, with its implication of drunkenness, was relied on it is clear that at the time of deciding to dismiss, Mr and Mrs Pablecheque considered Mr Tierney to have been affected by drug use rather than drunk or hung over," said ERA member Christine Hickey.

Other claims that he had stolen a soft drink from the Lobster Inn's stores and had acted dangerously on the night were not proven.

Today, Mrs Pablecheque told APNZ she was "disillusioned" at the outcome of her first experience with the ERA in 15 years as an employer.

...."We have other staff to consider. We were losing staff because of his actions, so you're caught between a rock and a hard place aren't you."

Mr Tierney, who is now working as a commis chef at Addington Events Centre in Christchurch, was glad that the ERA has cleared his name.

....Mr Tierney says he had never taken drugs, and put his actions that night down to "just being lazy" or "having a slow night".

Naturally he deserves to be compensated to the tune of $6,000.  He was just lazy.