A senior doctor who took prolonged medical leave after he was investigated for sexual harassment, has been ordered to pay $18,000 in costs after persisting with a long employment dispute.

The male doctor was dismissed from his job at Whangārei Hospital in May 2021 due to medical incapacity, after being on sick leave for 10 months.

Prior to his sick leave, he was on four months’ special leave while Northland District Health Board investigated a complaint of sexual harassment from a female junior doctor.

A ruling from the Employment Relations Authority – which did not name either doctor – said the senior doctor’s termination was justified by the then-district health board, now part of Te Whatu Ora.

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The events began in April 2020 when the junior doctor, whom the senior doctor helped teach and supervise, complained about inappropriate interactions.

The senior doctor was put on special leave and, during the investigation, he admitted sending inappropriate text messages and making unwelcome comments to his junior, saying what was supposed to be “cheeky and flirty” comments went too far.

His comments included telling the junior she was more fun to text than communicate in real life, making comments about her “latest conquest” and telling her she could get whatever she wanted with her “cheeky smile”.

The interaction had a profound impact on the junior doctor, giving her anxiety and taking away her usual enjoyment of work.

But just as the district health board made a preliminary decision that the doctor’s actions were serious misconduct, he fell ill with stress-induced chest pains.

Three months after the doctor became ill, the district health board said it would look into his ability to return to work, engaging a cardiologist and psychiatrist to assess the doctor.

Both specialists found the senior doctor had stress-related heart problems relating to the complaint.

The health board concluded he would not be returning to work soon unless the disciplinary process was abandoned, and he was subsequently dismissed due to medical incapacity.

By that time, the health board had been paying the doctor, and a locum to replace him, for 14 months.

But the doctor complained he had not been treated fairly, engaging a succession of three lawyers to take the health board to the Employment Relations Authority, claiming he was unjustifiably dismissed and unjustifiably disadvantaged.

The authority held an investigation meeting in November 2022 and member Eleanor Robinson ruled in her decision released March 1, 2023, that the health board had acted appropriately.

The health board sought costs to cover the $71,900 in legal fees incurred by the employment dispute.

It said tried four times to offer the senior doctor an out-of-court settlement, with the final amount reaching $42,500 and $8000 for legal fees, but this was refused.

The health board also said the senior doctor caused delays to the investigation meeting, such as his witnesses not being available when required.

It said the vast majority of legal fees would have been avoided if had acted appropriately and accepted the offer.

In a decision released last week, Robinson agreed the doctor should shoulder some of the costs, despite continuing to be unemployed, and she awarded costs of $18,000.