As for the “come clean” comment, the Court found it did not show predetermination. The evidence against the worker was strong from an early stage, and the director could not be criticised for hoping the meeting would give the worker a chance to explain himself. Modern Transport Engineers argued that an employer is not required to approach a disciplinary process with a completely blank mind and is entitled to form a tentative view during the process. The Court agreed. The Authority’s finding of unjustifiable dismissal was set aside.
Then came the money.
The parties had already agreed on $2,300 for work done on the worker’s wife’s car, though that remained unpaid. Workshop consumables and boat parts totalled $7,112. What was in dispute was the labour cost for the boat and campervan work.
The Authority had calculated labour at employees’ hourly rates, producing a total of $24,231.48. Modern Transport Engineers said damages should reflect the commercial charge-out rate – roughly three times each employee’s hourly rate, covering employment costs, premises and business expenses. On that basis, it claimed $65,115.13, though the Court found a miscalculation and corrected the figure to $64,971.
The Court agreed that when an employer has been deprived of labour hours through an employee’s breach, the right measure is the market rate for those hours. It recalculated using three times each employee’s individual hourly rate – the employees’ rates ranged from $22.70 to $36 an hour – and arrived at a total of $53,870.43, including consumables and the wife’s car.