An Air New Zealand hostess, angry at how she was woken during an international flight, was ordered to take anger management lessons because she shook the colleague who woke her.
Elizabeth Hyland, a flight attendant with an almost "unblemished" 26-year career, was also given a final warning for her conduct on the flight to San Francisco.
However, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has dismissed the warning, and ruled Ms Hyland does not need to take the anger management classes because the airline took too long to investigate the matter.
Authority member Alastair Dumbleton, in a decision published today, said Air New Zealand was "unfair and unreasonable" for telling Ms Hyland she faced potentially being sacked before a "protracted" 10-month investigation into her actions.
Mr Dumbleton said the punishments of a final warning and anger management lessons may have been appropriate immediately after Ms Hyland's misconduct, but were too severe almost a year later.
Ms Hyland, who had worked for "many years" as an attendant on international flights, was taking her allocated sleep break on a B747 aircraft flying overnight from Auckland to San Francisco on August 27, 2011.
When it became time for her to resume duty she had to be woken by a colleague.
"The physical contact used to wake her up applied by a colleague flight attendant caused physical hurt or discomfort to Ms Hyland and agitated her considerably," Mr Dumbleton said in his findings.
"Upon returning to duty in the cabin she confronted her colleague about the way she had been woken.
"To demonstrate what she had experienced Ms Hyland took hold of her colleague's arm and shook it, while asking her to understand how it had felt to be woken up with the force she claimed had been applied to her.
"Ms Hyland's remonstration and physical actions caused her colleague immediate distress."
The senior manager of the cabin crew held a meeting between the two women, during which Ms Hyland apologised for her actions.
A report was sent to another Air New Zealand manager saying the matter had been dealt with.
However the second manager deemed Ms Hyland's actions to be serious, and ordered she be stood down from duty. She was made to 'passenger' home instead.
The second manager "expressed concern that Air New Zealand needed to send a clear message that her behaviour was not acceptable".
An investigation was launched by the airline and Ms Hyland was told she could lose her job.
The final report by Air New Zealand said Ms Hyland's actions were in breach of the company's code of conduct, failed to meet the standards of flight attendants and constituted workplace bullying.
However its punishments were challenged by Ms Hyland, and the ERA ruled there were concerns about the protracted investigation.
Ms Hyland resumed normal duties throughout the inquiry, and there was "no suggestion that during that time anything untoward in her conduct or behaviour again occurred while working for the airline".
The dragged-out investigation caused Ms Hyland "unnecessary stress and health issues", her lawyer said.
"It does seem unfair and unreasonable and to possibly have an element of punishment about it, although unintended, to have an employee continue to work for as long as 10 months while under the shadow of an unfinished disciplinary investigation which has been notified as possibly leading to dismissal," Mr Dumbleton said.
He ruled Ms Hyland should still sign a drafted apology for her colleague, even though a senior manager was "concerned as to the genuineness" of it.
"It will be for [the colleague] to decide whether the remorse and contrition expressed in it is genuine and sincere," Mr Dumbleton said.
Ms Hyland's claim for $10,000 compensation for pain and humiliation was dismissed because she was "significantly to blame for what happened through her over-reaction and in handling her colleague".
