Rooney Farms ordered to pay former employee more than $30,000

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

A prominent South Canterbury businessman’s unjustified suspension of a senior farm worker has been described by the Employment Relations Authority as a knee-jerk reaction.

Authority member David Beck’s determination, released last week, found Rooney Farms Ltd owner Gary Rooney was unjustified in suspending senior shepherd Philip Stewart, who worked on his Taiko property, ordering him to pay him $32,000.

Beck said there had been “simply no compelling reason to suspend Mr Stewart and no haste required nor fair process adhered to”.

“The suspension was unjustified and causative of unnecessary distress,” he said.

Stewart was employed by Rooney Farms Ltd from 2023 until the employment ended in disputed circumstances, and he resigned on June 5, 2024.

Stewart reported to a farm manager and while he described initial satisfaction with his work, he acknowledged that he became a spokesperson for raising issues with management and was not afraid to speak up.

That contributed to an, at times, tense relationship, Beck said.

Rooney said a visit to the Taiko farm on May 27, 2024 raised red flags about the operation.

He said “the farm was in a shambles’’ and he saw gates left open.

Rooney attended the farm meeting the next day at 7.30am.

When there Rooney said he asked why Stewart was not there.

On being told Stewart had an arrangement to start late once a fortnight so he could take his children at school, Rooney waited for Stewart before starting.

Rooney said he addressed his concerns and set out expectations, and told staff to devise a plan and meet him the following day to outline solutions.

Stewart, and other witnesses, recalled being pushed by Rooney to accept responsibility for gates being left open at the meeting. Stewart disagreed with this.

He recalled at one point Rooney asked if the farm was a shambles - and the response from everyone was “yes”.

At the end of the meeting, Rooney asked Stewart to meet him in the wool shed.

Stewart said Rooney told him to find another job and if he did not, a disciplinary process would start.

Stewart said when he asked why, Rooney replied, “you know why”.

Stewart said when he explained why he was late for the meeting, Rooney said he did not give a f*** about his family situation.

At this point, Stewart said he walked out.

Interview notes made during a Rooney Farms Ltd-initiated investigation on June 13, say Stewart told a co-worker that Rooney told him to find another job or a disciplinary process would commence.

In his evidence, Rooney said he said to Stewart he was not sacking him but he was to “shape up or ship out and find another job”.

Beck said: “I find it is more likely than not, that Mr Rooney said he was planning to embark upon a disciplinary process if Mr Stewart did not seek alternative employment’’.

“I cautiously come to this finding as being consistent with what Mr Stewart relayed to co-workers immediately after the wool shed meeting and the, at the time, unchallenged account of the meeting Mr Stewart forwarded to the business manager the next day.’’

That finding was also “significantly reinforced’’ by Rooney embarking upon a disciplinary process prior to the May 27 meeting.

“This action is inconsistent with Mr Rooney’s subsequent explanation that he was only trying to warn Mr Stewart in a short and sharp manner, that his perceived under-performance had to improve.

“I also note that amongst several concerns raised by Mr Rooney, it was inexplicable why he only targeted Mr Stewart, unless an ulterior motive was involved.’’

He said had he not found Stewart’s recollection of the conversation to be more plausible, it would remain on Rooney’s admission that he told him to “shape up or ship out’’.

“This, at least, suggests Mr Rooney had formed a pre-determined view of Mr Stewart before any investigation had been embarked upon to identify what was causing the farm issues.”

At the follow-up meeting the next day, Stewart was sick and not present.

The business manager phoned Stewart afterwards and offered to put him on garden leave until matters could be resolved.

Stewart asked for a copy of his employment agreement and said he would consider the garden leave proposal once information was provided, and otherwise would return to work the next day.

The business manager said after relaying that to Rooney, he resolved to suspend Stewart.

Just after 7.30am on May 29, Stewart was given a letter of suspension by Rooney. Stewart then loaded his ute with personal belongings and left.

The letter said the suspension was to allow the company to carry out an investigation but of what, was not immediately clear

Stewart’s advocate Paul Mathews raised a personal grievance the next day, asserting Stewart had been disadvantaged by the events leading up to the suspension and called for immediate reinstatement, mediation, an apology and compensation.

Rooney Farms said the suspension was justified and an investigation would proceed.

Stewart resigned on June 5.

On August 21, 2024, Stewart made an application to the Authority, which directed the parties to mediation, but this did not resolve matters.

In summing up, Beck said Rooney did not adopt a formal approach, and he singled Stewart out.

He said Rooney appeared convinced Stewart was the instigator of disharmony, and essentially threatened Stewart with a disciplinary process.

“When Mr Stewart openly reacted to this threat by briefing co-workers and leaving the farm, Mr Rooney in a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction resolved to immediately suspend Mr Stewart.’’

He said it was reasonably clear Rooney had pre-determined the outcome of the company’s ‘investigation’.

Beck said it was reasonably foreseeable that Stewart would resign as a result of their actions, including an attempt to induce his resignation then an unjustified and procedurally deficient suspension.

“As a result, Mr Stewart was dismissed and, I find the dismissal was unjustified in all the circumstances.’’

The $32,000 was made up of $25,000 compensation and $7000 in lost wages.