| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | [2012] NZERA Christchurch 45 |
| Hearing date | 25 Oct 2011 |
| Determination date | 13 March 2012 |
| Member | J Crichton |
| Representation | G Lloyd ; T Cleary |
| Location | Blenheim |
| Parties | Aldridge v Safe Air Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Redundancy – UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE – Applicant claimed unjustifiably dismissed and disadvantaged by respondent – Respondent lost work on upgrading particular aircraft fleet and loss of work resulted in large scale restructure – Applicant claimed not involved in work with fleet and therefore should not have been made redundant – Applicant claimed redundancy not genuine – Applicant claimed was specialist and not interchangeable with other machinist roles – Authority found applicant’s position specialist – Found some unfairness in lumping applicant’s position in with others – Found no bias or predetermination – Found applicant assessed by operations manager (“H”) – Found H and applicant had virtually no working relationship – Found difficult to see how H could make fair and just assessment of applicant – Respondent scored employees on ability to use range of machines – Found applicant never worked on some machines and therefore scored badly – Found respondent’s determination to treat skills generically unfair to applicant – Found applicant not shown scores before position made redundant – Found respondent should have engaged with applicant about scores if more likely to be made redundant as consequence of scores – Found no consultation about selection process – Found respondent failed in obligation as good and fair employer – Found applicant not given sufficient information and therefore did not have genuine opportunity to participate – Found respondent chose to withhold information from applicant – Found respondent entitled to manage own affairs – Authority not convinced redundancy not genuine – Found process of redundancy unfair – Dismissal unjustified – REMEDIES – No contributory conduct – Found no reimbursement of lost wages appropriate – No reinstatement – $5,000 compensation appropriate – Aircraft Engineer |
| Result | Applications granted ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s4(1A)(c);ERA s4(1B);ERA s4(1C);ERA s124 |
| Cases Cited | Bainbridge v Safe Air Limited [2012] NZERA Christchurch 42;Simpsons Farms Ltd v Aberhart [2006] ERNZ 825;Vice-Chancellor of Massey University v Wrigley [2011] NZEmpC 37 |
| Number of Pages | 14 |
| PDF File Link: | 2012_NZERA_Christchurch_45.pdf [pdf 68 KB] |