Warning 2 was in January 2004. The employer told Ms B that this was her final warning and identified that their concerns were she had a negative attitude around the office and her sales report were low.
In October 2004 Ms B was sent a letter advising her of her dismissal. The letter said that Ms B's targets were low and down year-on-year, she had not met a target since January 2004.
So what was the problem?
In the first warning Ms B was not told there was any issue with her sales – that's because at that time there was no problem with her sales. She was doing well. Yet this was the reason given by the employer for her dismissal. She was told in her letter of dismissal by the Employer that she had been given her “final” warning in January but Ms B had only been given one warning relating to her sales - the January warning.
The Employment Relations Authority decided that in this case two warnings for failing to meet sales targets were necessary - not just one. In this case the first warning in July did not count, as it was not about sales performance. Ms B was awarded $5,0000 compensation for the humiliation suffered.
