A female Warehouse team leader has lost her appeal against been sacked after groping another female worker's breasts.
Kim Randle fought against her firing, and complained to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) that the touching had been accidental. Randle argued she had "tripped and fallen" onto the victim and "connected with her breasts".
In 2016 the Warehouse held a conference, and staff were booked to stay at a local hotel after the event. At around 12:30am, Randle went into the complainant's suite, where the incident happened.
Randle "proceeded to try and climb into my bed with me and started grabbing, squeezing and rubbing my breasts saying how soft and round they where," the woman wrote in an email complaint to her boss.
"She came and tried getting into bed with me again started to do the same to my breasts as she was doing before so I pushed her hand away again and said what the f**k.
"The next morning down at breakfast she said with a big smile on her face… I am sorry for molestering you last night in front of everyone at the table."
Senior Warehouse staff launched in investigation into the incident.
"Randle accepted she had touched the complainant's breasts. She said she had tripped and fallen on to the complainant's bed and 'connected' with her breasts," the ERA's summary of the events reads.
However the Warehouse disagreed with Randle's account and she was sacked, leading to her lodging an action with the ERA.
Now, the ERA has dismissed Randle's complaint in a decision released on Thursday.
"On balance I am satisfied that the Warehouse was justified in its decision to dismiss Ms Randle," the ERA concludes in its judgement.
"There was an initial touching of the complainant's breasts by Ms Randle, the touching was accompanied by explicit comments, Ms Randle then removed herself from the bed for a short period of time, she returned to where the complainant was placed and touched the complainant again in the same area."
Newshub.
