Employee told to resign or be dismissed is found to have been unjustifiably dismissed

After a customer complaint about a delivery, the employee who made it said a manager told him to resign or be dismissed; the employer said he quit. The Authority preferred the employee's account, citing the employer's inconsistent evidence, its silence when he asked in writing to confirm his dismissal, and absent records. Applying the s 103A test of what a fair and reasonable employer could have done, it found the dismissal procedurally and substantively unjustified: no allegations were put in advance, the outcome was predetermined, doorbell camera footage was never sought, and dismissal followed within 48 hours of the complaint.

The Authority awarded $15,000 under s 123(1)(c)(i), accepting a doctor's notes obtained months later as consistent with his evidence. With no pay rate in the employment agreement, it used Inland Revenue income records to set three months' ordinary time remuneration at $17,448.75 under s 128, declining to award more without evidence of a continued job search. No s 124 reduction was made. Costs were reserved.

What weight can an employer's silence after a written request to confirm a dismissal carry against its later account of a resignation?

How is ordinary time remuneration worked out when an employment agreement leaves the pay rate and hours blank?

[2026] NZERA 663