MBIE worker contributed 100% to dismissal situation, but still gets $3500

William Manning, an employee at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in New Zealand, successfully brought an unjustified dismissal claim before the Employment Relations Authority (ERA). Despite the ERA ruling that Manning contributed 100 percent to the circumstances of his dismissal, which barred him from receiving standard remedies, he was still awarded $3,500.

The award was granted because the ERA determined that a claimant's contributory conduct cannot simultaneously be used to deny them costs in the proceedings. Consequently, the employer was ordered to pay the financial amount despite the worker bearing full responsibility for the dismissal situation itself.