NZ accountant sacked for confrontational emails

A New Zealand accountant has sued her employer after being sacked for writing what her company described as confrontational emails.

Vicki Walker, formerly a financial controller with ProCare Health in New Zealand, is suing for unfair dismissal after her employer said that she was causing disruption in the office with emails using block capitals, bold typeface and red text. Upper case letters in emails are considered to indicate shouting, and may be seen as rude by some.

"To say that [email] is confrontational is ridiculous," Walker told the New Zealand Herald. "I have spent thousands defending myself and there are so many issues that are unresolved that I want to take them up on."

Walker was awarded NZ$17,000 (£7,155) by the court for damages and loss of earnings, and plans to take additional legal action.

The case highlights the importance of workplace email policies. The court ruled against ProCare Health after it was revealed that the company had no policy on email usage, and that was not realistic to fire the employee in this case.