An IT manager at a school in New Zealand who joked about killing a student who was hit by a learner driver on school grounds has had his appeal against his dismissal rejected.
Kevin Whelan worked at Lindisfarne College, a boarding school in Hastings on the North Island for 23 years when, in August 2024, an upset student approached him with a friend. The student appeared “stressed and worried” about his collision with a fellow student, who had been riding his bike through school grounds. The cyclist suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital, Stuff reports.
In an effort to reassure the concerned student driver, Whelan says he played him CCTV footage of the collision, during which point he commented that the driver “should have backed up and finished him off.”
Neither student acknowledged the remark, with Whelan admitting to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) that handled his appeal that it was a “clumsy” attempt at “black humour”.
The student driver later wrote a complaint to the college, where he described the comment as “horrific”, adding he felt compelled to report Whelan’s remarks because, “I knew the comment made was inappropriate”.
The college rector subsequently began a disciplinary investigation that also focused on Whelan’s decision to show CCTV footage to the students without permission. He was swiftly suspended and formally dismissed the following month.
Upon review, the ERA upheld the college’s decision, finding Whelan’s comments could reasonably be seen as condoning violence or physical harm, particularly given it was directed at young men looking to adults for guidance.
The ERA also agreed the comment was serious enough to fall within the range of conduct for which a fair and reasonable employer could dismiss.
“I find that Mr Whelan’s admitted conduct was sufficiently serious to amount to serious misconduct justifying dismissal,” authority member Claire English said.
She also found the student had suffered genuine distress, rejecting Whelan’s claims that his dismissal and suspension were unjustified. However, the college was ordered to pay the former IT manager more than 12,718 dollars (£5,573) in fees, the majority of which was for causing hurt and humiliation.
14 thoughts on ““Should have backed up and finished him off”: School employee sacked for “black humour” with student who collided with cyclist whilst driving”
“neither student laughed…”
Well, it elicited a wry smile from me…
Oh dear! With my sense of humour, I should have been sacked a dozen times: every year.
The Kiwis I’ve met all seemed to have a reasonable sense of humour, and one was excellent, but perhaps they weren’t working for a school.
@eburtthebike One of my best mates, a former rugby teammate of mine, is a Kiwi and a teacher (over here). I can imagine him making precisely that joke and he’s a mad keen cyclist! Honestly, if this is the whole story it’s a hell of an overreaction to a remark that deserved a mild reprimand about appropriate conduct if that (different if it was coming from a police officer or a driving instructor or similar, maybe). Having worked in a number of schools it’s my experience that when senior management take agin someone they’ll grab any excuse to get rid of them, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the situation here.
I disagree.. it’s like casual racism, little comments all the time dehumanising cyclists. It’s the cumulative effect that causes the problems we’ve all experienced on the roads. You see this ‘should have finished him off ‘ and ‘extra points for knocking off a cyclist’ type comment every single day on social media and it does set an underlying tone that many people copy.
@mjc2669 No. Anti-cyclist prejudice is not “like casual racism” and it’s absurd to say it is – go and ask anyone who’s actually experienced racism what it’s like.
It was a stupid attempt at humour and yes these remarks are tiresome and to an extent damaging to cyclists. Enough to lose one’s job over? No.
@Rendel Harris I’m not aware of your role in a professional capacity so it is difficult to judge your context on this. I wonder how this would have played out had the students revisited the comments to the cyclist they injured or their parents? My view is that these things are about context and setting. I didn’t find Rob Liddle’s encouragement in the Times to string piano wire across cycling trails particularly funny, particularly as those things happen in the real world and (at best) the article condoned such behaviour on a national platform. Satire is a weapon best used by the powerless to mock the powerful. When this is reversed it is bullying.
Dunno how much weight was given to this but there was the initial issue with showing students CCTV they shouldn’t have.
That could be seen as an attempt to engage with student’s fears in a less authoritative, or being inappropriately friendly (breaking rules and making off-colour jokes) while in a position of responsibility.
There could be more here in terms of management “beef” – but equally this individual could have more on the record.
@Samtheeagle Former teacher married to a current one.
The man made a stupid comment that may, in fact, have not even been anti-cyclist per se, he might have been trying a “dispose of the witness” joke, and he was ill-advisedly trying to lighten the mood for an upset student. Anyway, it was tasteless, foolish and unprofessional. Worthy of a reprimand or additional training to make him realise he has to mend his ways? Sure. Worthy of dismissal? No.
@Rendel Harris
Respectfully, I disagree. Anti-cycling prejudice can be equivalent to casual racism.
I agree with you that it doesn’t seem to be the matter in this case, but the thoughtless “othering” and subsequent mass petty discrimination of any out-group as perceived by the cultural majority is equally problematic, regardless of the basis of the “othering”; race, religion, gender, lifestyle, etc.
I don’t think the level of prejudice most typically experienced by cyclists from the likes of gobshite white van men is equivalent to some of the acts of hate-crime perpetrated by extremist racists, but that’s not within the scope of casual racism.
@Rendel Harris Came here to say what ROOTminus1 already has.
No, it’s not the same, but that’s only because a cyclist can effectively turn off the prejudice whenever they like. The cyclist chooses to be in the outgroup, so how can the impact ever be directly comparable.
The mechanism of the prejudice and its potential impact, can be compared. Every little ‘harmless’ anti-cycling joke is another confirmation in someone elses mind that cyclists are subhuman and deserve what ever they get… on and on it goes, until one day, a 69 year old thinks he can plow into a group of cyclists with impunity. Worst of all though, it looks like they may be right.
@Rendel Harris wrote
That may be the case but if management are “out to get you” you would be well advised to watch your step and stay well within the rules. In my opinion there is no excuse for this person’s comment to impressionable youngsters. To condone this is akin to supporting the likes of Messrs Clarkson, Liddle and Parris. “Well it was only a joke.”
The other point made in the article is that he showed the cctv footage without obtaining authorisation and if GDPR in NZ is anything like here you need to be very careful in this respect.
@Bungle_52 If he broke the NZ equivalent of GDPR rules that would be a very different matter, but the report here implies that he was originally investigated for the CCTV matter but sacked for the comment. You’ll notice above that nowhere have I condoned or excused the “joke”, I simply said that I don’t think it’s sufficient grounds for someone to be sacked. How many of us can say that we’ve never said something like, for example, on being overtaken on a blind brow, “Shame there wasn’t a truck coming, that might have taught the bugger some sense” or similar? Would that warrant dismissal from your job if someone heard you say that at work?
@Rendel Harris More details here
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361022310/finished-him-school-it-manager-awarded-12k-after-flawed-dismissal-over-car-crash-joke
Given that humour, as defined by no less than Charlie Chaplin, is someone else’s misfortune. it is clear that anyone who makes a joke should be fired.
Which reminds me of the terrible joke about what the ring master said when the human cannonball died “It’ll be difficult to find another man of his calibre.”
Fire me now to save time.