A woman sacked three weeks into a job as a personal assistant has been awarded almost $17,000 for unfair dismissal.
Yurinda van der Bel was fired by the now defunct Kids Art Space in August 2007 for not sending out a DVD on time and typing incorrect identifier codes onto letters sent to clients.
Employment Relations Authority member Alastair Dumbleton, sitting in Auckland, found Kids Art Space had dismissed Ms van der Bel unfairly because it did not give her a three-month trial period.
Kids Art Space was ordered to pay Ms van der Bel nearly $10,000 in lost wages and $7000 compensation for illness she suffered because of her sacking.
The employer did not attend the authority's investigation meeting.
Director Alan Blackwell told the authority he and fellow director Noeline Rachinger had no intention of returning from the United States for the investigation.
He said Kids Art Space had stopped trading and had no assets.
