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A young woman was found to be unjustifiably dismissed for failing to smile enough during her work at a pizza restaurant and has been awarded over $11,000 in compensation.
Telemarketer Jacinta Highley began working for the Christchurch pizza restaurant Cocopelli at the end of October and continued to be employed there until the end of January.
Highley said she had been happy with the way she was serving customers and had been receiving compliments from employees of the restaurant.
However, Christchurch pizza restaurant and bar Cocopelli manager Jeanette Francis said she had received multiple complaints about Highley who had been described as "unhappy, bland, lacking personality, looking miserable and seeming to hate her job".
Francis said she did not tell Highley about these comments as she believed they would be hurtful and instead told her it was her being unpleasant that was not acceptable.
She told Highley that her employment was in jeopardy if she did not improve her customer service.
Francis claimed that Highley had agreed to a code-word, “Miley”, to encourage her to smile more.
When this failed to incite Highley to improve her performance, it was suggested they change the code-word to her partner's name as she "seemed to smile when she spoke about him".
Highley said she was relieved when her trial period ended but was then dismissed on January 28, the day after the end of her three-month-trial.
It was because she was fired the day after her trial ended that it was decided Highley had been unfairly dismissed.
A member of the the ERA David Appleton said Highley should have been advised of her right to fair representation, and given the chance to correct any unsatisfactory behaviour given she was no longer under the trial period.
Instead Appleton said Highley had been "ambushed" in her dismissal, although conceded Francis had made a miscalculation in regard to when the date of the trial period ended.
However the consequences of the miscalculation were not at the fault of Highley and she should not be held accountable for it, Appleton said.
Appleton said Highley was a "perfectly presentable, articulate, intelligent, polite and pleasant person" however accepted she did not have the skill set required by the hospitality industry where she was expected to work.
Based on the likelihood of Highley still being dismissed had proper employment procedures been followed, she was awarded four weeks of lost wages and holiday pay.
She was also awarded $11,250 in compensation.
