An Auckland teacher who claims he was fired after raising concerns about a raft of incidents at his school has won a claim for unjustified dismissal.
Raymond Lewis was sacked from Howick College in April 2008 after a 20-year stint at the school.
He believed he was targeted after complaining to Prime Minister John Key, among others, about a number of issues, the Herald on Sunday reported.
They are understood to include concerns over NCEA criteria and the school's responsibilities over the death of 17-year-old Ross Kimpton during a rugby tour.
Kimpton drank alcohol and later fell from a London hotel window while sleepwalking.
Employment Court Chief Judge Graeme Colgan ruled Lewis was unjustifiably dismissed and awarded him $10,000 and three months' backpay, overturning a 2008 Employment Relations Authority ruling.
But Lewis' bid for reinstatement was rejected after strong opposition by the college board of trustees.
The judge said there was a risk of further disruption that could affect teachers, the school and "potentially pupils".
He said Lewis had played a part in losing his job by failing to take fair and reasonable steps, but it should have been dealt with more appropriately by the school, which had made a raft of errors and had been "unreasonable and unfair".
The economics teacher is understood to be taking his fight for reinstatement to the Court of Appeal.
