A Christchurch chef claims she was the victim of a "set up" by her bosses, who took photographs of a kitchen dirty with undated and unlabelled food and blamed her for the mess.

She said they pressured her to resign after she took cafe food home, but forgot to pay for it, was warned over a text message and told them she would find another job.

King, who worked as head chef at Cafe Allwood in Halswell from November 1, 2016, said she had nightmares, panic attacks and bouts of crying after she was suspended.

Iain McGregor Cafe Allwood in Halswell.

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has backed Keryn King's case, awarding her more than $13,000 for unfair dismissal.

But it found the dirty kitchen could have been a health and safety issue, reducing her original compensation by 20 per cent, and ordered her to pay the business $58.73 for food she took home.

SAGA STARTED AT CHRISTMAS

Just before Christmas 2016, King approached cafe owners Mark and Helen Hutching seeking an advance payment before the holiday shut-down period.

An agreement was drawn up, which outlined King would receive $1000, which would be paid back over time by deducting $60 each pay period.

King said just before Christmas she agreed with Helen Hutching she could order herself some Danish pastries through a supplier. On King's last day before the shutdown she showed her colleague, Krystina Kappely she had packed pastries, bags of cranberries and blueberries into a cardboard box so she could remind Hutching.

Hutching said she had no knowledge of the supplies being taken and it was only brought to her attention when Kappely asked her if King had paid for the goods. King said she forgot to pay for the items, but offered to pay for them.

On April 6, 2017 King and manager Jeremy Kappely met to discuss ways they could improve the cafe. During the meeting Kappely gave King a warning regarding a text message she sent him.

King said she found the warning "hard to take" and told Kappely she may not be the chef for him. She told Kappely she did not intend to resign or hand in a notice of leave, but would look for another job. Kappely asked King when she was leaving. King said she did not know, but was giving him a "heads up".

Over the next two weeks Kappely repeatedly approached King, asking her provide a written resignation for the owners, she said.

King said she was "annoyed" she was continuously being pressured to resign when she had not secured another job. On April 21 she wrote a letter to the Hutchings clarifying she was not intending to resign until she had found another job.

BACK INJURY FROM LIFTING FLOUR

On May 3, after finishing work King consulted a doctor who told her she had pinched a nerve in her back. She did not claim the injury as being work related, but said it was a result of lifting a 25kg bag of flour. The doctor advised she should participate in light duties while her lifting movements were restricted.

Mark Hutching sent two lengthy letters to King on May 7 and May 15. They outlined several issues he had with King, claiming:

- King's back injury was not the result of lifting flour at work, as it was not reported; therefore light duties would not be accommodated

- That King left the kitchen in a mess, with undated and unlabelled food left around. Photographs were taken as evidence

- King should pay the remainder of her loan of $520 in full from her next pay to negate any issues faced when she left Cafe Allwood

​- She not return to work after her sick leave expired

​The $520 was taken from her pay, despite her asking for it not to be. King's holiday pay was paid out without any explanation.

​ERA member David Appleton's judgment said the actions of King's employers led her to lose total confidence in her chefing ability, leading to her resignation.

He found King was constructively dismissed. Appleton said the employers fundamentally breached King's employment agreement, which entitled her to treat her contract as having been repudiated and entitling her to resign.

Appleton found King was unjustifiably constructively dismissed and awarded her a total of $13,332,11 in lost wages and compensation for humiliation and loss of dignity.