Ashley Thornton was called into the office of Jonathan Owens the Hardware Assembly Supervisor and advised that he was dismissed forthwith for a breach of trust and dishonesty. He was then taken to his workbench and asked to pack his things and escorted to the front gate by Graham Timms, who had also been at the meeting. The meeting had commenced with Jonathan Owens advising Ashley that a very serious situation had arisen involving him. He then explained the following situation to Ashley. It transpired that Ashley’s Father, who owned a farm in the Hasting area had been the victim of a burglary. Among the items listed as stolen was a Pasture Tech 100. Ashley’s Father could not give a value to the machine and advised Police that he had bought it from his son, who worked for the Company. The Police contacted Agtech to ascertain the price Ashley would have paid. They spoke with Eileen Thomas who became very suspicious when no invoice was found for a sale to either Ashley or his Father. Eileen spoke to Sally McIntire who put the case to Jacob Tyler. His reaction was to telephone Johnathan Owens and state that: "If Ashley did not have a good explanation he should be dismissed immediately because we cannot tolerate any dishonesty in the Company and an example should be made of any person who is caught, especially where the Police are involved". After explaining the situation Johnathan Owens asked Ashley if he could supply a good reason for the situation. Ashley then explained that the Pasture Tech 100 was one which had been returned by a customer as faulty. Such machines would normally be put away in the store room for repair but to date none of the dozen or so machines in the store had been repaired. He stated that he had asked Graham Timms if he could have the machine to experiment with and that following a favourable response, he had taken the machine home and found that he was able to repair it. A good place was found to further experiment, namely his father's farm. He also stated that he had purchased the parts required to fix the machine and that these were listed on his staff account which he intended to fix up this fortnight. Following Ashley’s explanation Johnathan Owens asked Ashley to wait outside while they came to a decision about his future. Graham Timms rang Eileen Thomas about the Staff Account and discovered that many items suitable for the repair of a Pasture Tech 100 had been invoiced to Ashley. However payment of the account was so many months overdue that Graham felt that it did not matter anyway. They decided that Jacob’s idea of making an example would be beneficial to the organisation and accordingly chose the option of dismissal. When Ashley was asked back, Johnathan asked him if he had anything to add to his explanation. Ashley did not. He was then advised that the Company could not tolerate even a suspicion of dishonesty and that he was therefore summarily dismissed. One week’s pay, less a deduction of $200.00 as a contribution for what was owed on the staff account, was lodged into Ashley 's Bank Account on 22 November 2012. On 6 December 2012, Ashley lodged a personal grievance against the Company claiming that he had been unjustifiably dismissed. By way of remedies he is seeking:- 1. Reinstatement to his position with reimbursement for total lost wages. or 2. Reimbursement for lost wages equivalent to three months wages in the amount of $9360 .00 being $780.00 per week for twelve weeks. AND Compensation pursuant to section 123 (c) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 in the amount of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000) AND A contribution to costs in the amount of one thousand and five hundred Dollars ($1500.00) Questions (1) Assume that you are a member of the Employment Authority and have heard this case. Give your verdict on the claim of unjustifiable dismissal and list the reasons in terms of the following:- (3 marks) (a) The substantive issues. (b) The procedural issues. (2) List all the steps you would have undertaken if you had have been Agtech’s HR Manager. (2 mark) Note: This assignment should not be in the form of a formal report (Perhaps best described as a paper)

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