“[The company] said Ms Carozzi knew the booking query should have been referred to another staff member who was responsible for monitoring and approving bookings, and she had not explained why she had acted that way,” ERA member Robin Arthur said in his written decision.
The company’s dismissal letter said Carozzi’s actions amounted to “gross negligence” which caused “significant” damage to CBWL and that it had “no other option” but to immediately terminate her employment.
Cable Bay vineyard is at the centre of an Employment Relations Authority case. Photo / NZME
Carozzi raised a personal grievance over the dismissal, saying she wasn’t given a proper opportunity to respond to the reasons for her dismissal and disagreed she had committed serious misconduct.
She said she was not adequately trained about the resource consent requirements and that the company had treated her inconsistently compared to a colleague who “made the same mistake”.
Cable Bay told the ERA Carozzi had “chosen to ignore the established process that was clearly communicated to her” and the company had “followed the correct investigation and disciplinary process” to reach its decision.
The company’s resource consent set strict limits to the number of permitted helicopter movements at the site.
“Helicopter traffic and other noise issues have caused controversy with some neighbours of the business, so the company has a procedure in place to check helicopter bookings are kept within those limits,” the decision said.
Cable Bay has previously been prosecuted for consent breaches, and was fined $50,000 last year for breaching noise limits at its premises.
In response to this, the company set up a system to ensure helicopter movements did not go over the limit.
The office manager was primarily responsible for approving and recording helicopter bookings, which were recorded on a spreadsheet that ran checks on whether bookings were within the limits.
Cable Bay Vineyards owner Loukas Petrou, with Caroline Petrou, had “predetermined” a decision to fire his staff member. Photo / NZME
Booking requests were made to two email addresses managed by Carozzi and were supposed to be referred to a colleague to check on the spreadsheet.
On the day in question, Carozzi, the restaurant manager, mistakenly assumed a new helicopter booking was connected to an existing booking because it contained the same surname, number of helicopter movements, helicopter company and a similar booking time as the existing one.
She said she verbally asked her colleague if it was the same booking, then confirmed it with the helicopter company. The colleague did not recall telling Carozzi it was okay to confirm the booking.
Petrou was at the winery on the day the helicopter flights occurred and noted the amount of movements exceeded the limits, raising the issue with staff.
In her apology email, Carozzi said she was “truly sorry” for her mistake and did not intend to cause any harm. Petrou did not respond to her email or speak to her in the following week.
She was summoned to a disciplinary meeting, in which she defended her actions.
Petrou’s subsequent dismissal letter referred to her statements about inadequate training as “simply false”, saying she had given “false and emotional statements” that seemed “malicious and unsubstantiated”.
Petrou’s witness statement to the ERA said he was worried about prosecution over the consent breach and the possible loss of the company’s liquor licence.
“I was worried that the negative publicity, as well as a further prosecution, could impact the business so badly, we might have to close,” he wrote.
Cable Bay Winery has previously been fined for breaching noise limits. Photo / NZME
Arthur’s decision found the dismissal was unjustified, noting the outcome of the disciplinary process was predetermined, the incident was inadequately investigated, Carozzi did not get a proper opportunity to respond to the company’s concerns and an “ulterior purpose” motivated the dismissal decision.
Petrou, as the actual decision-maker, also did not meet with Carozzi to give her opportunity to respond to his concerns and alternatives to dismissal were not fairly considered.
Arthur said the disciplinary process was a “charade”.
He awarded Carozzi $6461 for lost wages and $12,000 for compensation for “humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings”.
Arthur said Carozzi’s distress was compounded by visa concerns, as she is from Italy, and her shock at receiving a dismissal letter instead of being given the opportunity to respond to preliminary findings from the disciplinary meeting.
The Herald has contacted Cable Bay Wine for comment.
In a statement provided to Newsroom, Petrou said the company was disappointed with the decision.
“In this case, the employee acknowledged their mistake and accepted responsibility for actions with serious operational consequences. We respect the legal process and the ERA’s role, even when interpretations may differ. Our commitment to our staff, guests and high standards remains unwavering,” he said.
“Cable Bay has always been committed to creating a fair, safe and supportive workplace. We offer competitive wages, strong employee benefits and foster a culture of respect and accountability.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.