Air NZ to appeal decision on staff internet use
Air New Zealand is appealing an Employment Relations Authority (ERA) case it lost involving overuse of the internet by employees.
The ERA found that four storemen at the company’s Christchurch Engineering services division were unjustifiably dismissed and ordered the airline to reinstate them and pay compensation.
Vanessa Stoddart, the airline’s group general manager of human resources, said the company would appeal.
One employee visited 12,857 internet sites in just over 60 hours, while another visited 8303 sites in nearly 44 hours.
Visits to sexually explicit sites, dating sites and a site showing hot rods were referred to in the decision.
Each of the employees testified that they had had no formal training in the computer system.
The store’s employees taught each other how to use the Internet.
A central issue was whether excessive searching of the internet amounted to serious misconduct.
The decision was that there was extensive misuse of computer access and it was unsafe for Air New Zealand to reach the conclusions it had in respect of the employees.
The argument that access to an information technology system formed a contract with the employees failed because employees were not advised of their obligation under the so-called contract.
The four employees were elated that they had been cleared and the airline had to pay them compensation.
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