By Claire Mansell - 16 Jun 2014
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that a deliberate lie by an
employee during an investigation into misconduct can justify
dismissal. The Court recently refused leave to appeal in the
case of George v Auckland Council. This case involved the
dismissal of a senior employee after her employer concluded that
she had lied in her explanations during a disciplinary
investigation.
There is reassurance for employers in this decision that a
separate investigation into alleged lies is considered unnecessary
and unduly complex. An employer will have to follow due process as
part of any existing investigation. It remains the case that
an employer can't investigate one alleged form of misconduct and
then dismiss on a different one that has not been
investigated. An investigation into suspected lies would
include providing adequate details of the alleged untruth and
providing an opportunity to respond. The Court was careful to
emphasise that they had in mind something beyond inconsistencies or
honest differences in recollection of events.
An example of an employer getting the dismissal process wrong
came before the Employment Relation Authority earlier this year in
the case of Voss v Regent International Education
Group. In that case a teacher was dismissed for lying
about leaving a marking schedule for exams on her desk where
students could photograph it. Her dismissal was unjustified as
she was not given time to respond to the allegations of lying which
were brought up at a meeting to discuss the allegation of serious
misconduct. She was dismissed at the end of the meeting.
If you suspect an employee of lying during an investigation
contact Claire
Mansell to see what your next step should be.