Woman sacked over 'shouty' emails

An office worker in New Zealand was sacked following complaints from colleagues that her capital letter-filled emails were too confrontational.

Vicki Walker was later awarded NZ$17,000 (£7,000) when a tribunal ruled that she had been unfairly dismissed from her job by ProCare in December 2007, The New Zealand Herald reports.

One of the emails in question included blue-coloured text in bold capitals reading: "TO ENSURE YOUR STAFF CLAIM IS PROCESSED AND PAID, PLEASE DO FOLLOW THE BELOW CHECK LIST."

Walker said: "To say that [email] is confrontational is ridiculous. I have spent thousands defending myself and there are so many issues that are unresolved that I want to take them up on."

ProCare had alleged that the financial controller caused disharmony in the workplace with her emails and also acted provocatively in wanting to view complaints from her colleagues.

However, the Employment Relations Authority noted that Walker had received no warnings and that the her dismissal was not a fair or reasonable consequence of any tension she caused.