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A caregiver who was fired because of her colleague’s TikTok has been awarded nearly $17,000 from the Labor Relations Department. (File photo)
A caregiver fired over her colleague’s TikTok video has been awarded nearly $17,000 from the Employment Relations Authority.
The decision of authority figure Claire English criticized Manor Park Private Hospital in Lower Hutt for “inherent dishonesty” in the dismissal of caretaker Maria Warrington.
Warrington was fired in August 2020 for appearing on a colleague’s TikTok with a hospital resident in the background.
In the eight-second video—posted by her colleague into the video-sharing app—Warrington’s colleague says, “I like the view,” and Warrington responds by saying, “You’re my best view.” A hospital resident sitting behind them is visible for about two seconds.
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John Nicholson / Stuff
Private Hospital Manor Park in Lower Hutt. (File photo)
Warrington was unaware that the video had been posted on TikTok or that the resident was in the picture behind her.
Months later, she was invited to a ten-minute meeting with her bosses — operations manager Tom Hannan and facility manager Angela Green — about “some videos” posted on “social media.”
“One of the videos clearly shows a resident sitting with you and your colleague,” reads the letter inviting her to the meeting.
It did not specify that the concerns were about TikTok or whether the employer was concerned about Warrington’s involvement in posting other TikToks. She had posted a total of nine TikToks and was visible in another 27 posted by colleagues.
The video she and her colleague were fired for was the only TikTok — of the 67 Hannan found — where a resident could be identified.
During the disciplinary meeting, Hannan and Green Warrington did not show the video. They thought she saw the video and knew what they were talking about.
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A hospital resident is visible in TikTok for about two seconds. (File photo)
At the meeting, Warrington said “sorry” and that she was not aware there were residents in her videos. She was seen talking to the colleague who posted the TikTok for the meeting. The managers thought this showed they knew about the video.
Hannan told Warrington that she would have seen the video before it was posted. She didn’t respond.
English’s decision revealed that it was unfair to ask Warrington to respond to concerns about a video without showing her the video. The carer was “never well informed” about her employer’s concerns.
“The inherent unfairness that resulted from Bizcom’s decision not to show the video to Ms Warrington manifested itself because the meeting was very short, with both [Hannan and Green] and noted that Mrs Warrington had very little to say,” English wrote in her conclusion.
“This is not surprising, as she hadn’t been given anything to respond to.”
Green wrote a letter telling Warrington that she had been fired, which was provided to her on the same day as the meeting. The caregiver had asked to be informed of the outcome as soon as possible because the disciplinary process was causing her so much stress.
She told the authority that she felt “worthless” because of her employer’s actions and thought they had not listened to her.
The authority found that Warrington had been unfairly fired. English ordered Bizcomm New Zealand Ltd – the hospital’s owner – to pay Warrington $4365 in lost wages, $500 vacation pay and Kiwisaver and $12,000 for her pain and humiliation.