Falsified Work References and Relevance to Remedies in Unjustified Dismissal
Falsified work referencesThe case of an employer ordered to pay more than $10,000 to one of his refrigeration engineers who had falsified his work history, wrecked a customer’s equipment and almost electrocuted one of his fellow workers has attracted recent media attention. The newspaper report indicated that these decisions baffle bosses. Mr Faber the owner of the employer company was reported to be stunned by the ERA decision saying “It doesn’t matter that the employee is a fraud and you can prove he is a fraud – you still lose the case”. Counterclaim
In the case, the employer had relied on misrepresentation as one of the grounds for claiming the cost of Mr Gostman’s work errors. The ERA held that the losses were not caused by the misrepresentations. The ERA held that while Mr Gostman’s performance was poor, he had not been negligent to the standard required to enable these losses to have been recovered from him. The ERA also thought that the employer had contributed to some of its losses by not making thorough enquiries at the pre-employment stage, including discussing Mr Gostman’s history, skills and experience with his referees and also by not managing Mr Gostman’s performance once issues became evident. So no award was made against Mr Gostman on the counterclaim. Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is of a general nature and is not intended as legal advice. It is important that you seek legal advice that is specific to your circumstances. All rights reserved © Jackson Russell 2013 |
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