Ontario municipal worker left early, didn't complete tasks: Employer
P.K. had more than 23 years’ service with the municipality of Chatham-Kent when he was fired on Sept. 19, 2012. One disciplinary incident was noted on his file.
The one incident on P.K.’s file, which occurred on July 25, 2012, was a written warning issued to P.K. for leaving work early without proper authorization. P.K. left work early because he felt unwell that day and, though he told a co-worker what he was doing, P.K. failed to properly inform his supervisor.
After a two-week absence, P.K. returned to work on Aug. 8. The next day, P.K. was observed by a supervisor to be in the cab of a municipal vehicle talking to another employee. P.K. was not in the location to which he had been assigned.
The next day, P.K. had been assigned to assist that same supervisor with preparations for a barbecue at a municipal park. P.K. began the day at the park but then left without authorization. The supervisor waited for P.K. When he did not return, the supervisor called P.K.’s acting supervisor to inquire after his whereabouts. P.K. was discovered in his truck reading a book while parked near the municipal greenhouse.
Concerns about work performance
Concerns about P.K.’s work performance were also noted. P.K. was scheduled to work four hours of overtime on Aug. 12. The municipal manager of parks and recreation had asked P.K. if he could spend some time picking up garbage left over from the barbecue at the park held two days earlier. That task was not completed.
The next day P.K. was directed to do some weed spraying at the civic centre. However, that task was not completed as P.K. had left early that day because of illness.
In the wake of these incidents, the manager undertook to check up on P.K.’s vehicle logs. The manager also checked to see at what time the greenhouse alarm was generally set every day in order to determine the time at which P.K. was leaving work.
The alarm logs showed that on 58 of 66 shifts between February and August, P.K. set the alarm anywhere from five minutes to one hour earlier in advance of the end of his shift.
P.K. was called in to a meeting. Accompanied by a union representative, P.K. rejected assertions he had failed to complete assigned tasks. P.K. acknowledged that he regularly set the alarm early. However, P.K. said that it was his practice to set the alarm and then wait on site, sitting in his
air-conditioned truck.
P.K. was fired. The union grieved.
The employer said P.K. had misused company time and had failed to complete assigned tasks. His conduct amounted to an irreparable breach of trust and termination was warranted, the employer said.
The arbitrator disagreed. Discipline was warranted but termination was excessive in the circumstances.
Entitled to expect more
P.K. gave the impression of being comfortable in a job where not much was demanded of him, the arbitrator said. If P.K. did not approach tasks with any particular sense of urgency, management likely bore some responsibility. It was unlikely P.K. could have approached his work in this fashion for any length of time without the tacit or overt knowledge and acquiescence of his supervisor (who did not testify), the arbitrator said.
Nevertheless, the employer was entitled to expect more of P.K., the arbitrator said.
"It was entitled to demand that the grievor follow instructions and remain at his assigned tasks in the park until they were complete. And having failed to meet those demands the grievor did subject himself to the discipline. However, I do not accept that the employer was entitled to discharge the grievor given his 23 years’ seniority and given the evidence regarding (his supervisor’s) acceptance of the grievor leaving early on a somewhat regular basis."
The employer was entitled to discipline P.K. for his failure to complete assigned tasks.
"I also accept that it was entitled to impose discipline for the inordinate amount of time the grievor appears to have spent in his truck. In my view, the cumulative amount of discipline for all these misdeeds should have been no more than three months."
P.K. was ordered reinstated and compensated for lost wages less the amount for the three-month suspension.
Reference: Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 12.1 The Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Norm Jesin — Sole Arbitrator. Duncan Bronson for the Union. Scott Williams for the Employer. June 17, 2013. 11pp.
