Employment Relations Authority member Simon Greening ruled on 24 August 2026 that a bullying text could not excuse a rushed dismissal.
The driver joined Big B Cartage Limited, trading as Transflora, as a class 5 truck driver on 29 October 2024. The small business transports plants to nurseries around New Zealand. His employment ended on 11 March 2025.
The driver brought a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal. He also claimed the company failed to hand over his wages and time record when his representative asked for it, breaching section 130(2) of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
The trouble began on 29 January 2025, when the driver sent a colleague a phone message laced with crude insults and threats, accusing him of lying and warning that he would stop helping with loading duties. The director later determined the message amounted to workplace bullying.
On 7 March 2025 the director invited the driver to a disciplinary meeting. That meeting, held on 11 March, lasted just seven minutes, and the director took no notes. The driver declined to comment on each issue raised. Soon after, the director emailed him confirming his dismissal “for serious misconduct, the main one being workplace bullying,” and offered 24 hours to supply any mitigating circumstances. The driver replied within minutes, agreeing to return his uniform and keys and warning that a lawyer would be in touch over his grievance. The director then asked whether he intended to provide anything further...
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