| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | [2015] NZERA Wellington 7 |
| Hearing date | 4 Nov 2014 |
| Determination date | 23 January 2015 |
| Member | Trish MacKinnon |
| Representation | M D Beauchamp (in person) ; C McCall |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Beauchamp v Chief of the Defence Force |
| Summary | BREACH OF CONTRACT - Applicant claimed respondent breached parties' employment agreement by failing to pay correct redundancy compensation - Respondent claimed error in parties' employment agreement and sought to apply doctrine of rectification or Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 - Whether common intention existed - Whether intention to carry over clause from previous employment agreements - Finance director |
| Abstract | AUTHORITY FOUND -BREACH OF CONTRACT: Applicant noticed redundancy higher than expected but did not strike him as obviously wrong given his increase in salary since previous employment agreements. Authority rejected view that applicant had not acted in good faith by failing to bring clause to attention of respondent. Respondent intended to carry over formula from previous employment agreement but applicant did not share intention. Applicant accepted amount in later employment agreement and this superseded any earlier shared intention. No shared intention at time later employment agreement entered. No grounds for rectification. No ground to vary agreement under Contractual Mistakes Act. Applicant entitled to receive redundancy amount specified in employment agreement. Respondent to pay applicant $73,622 redundancy compensation being the different of his entitlement and the amount already paid. |
| Result | Application granted; Redundancy compensation ($73,622); Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Breach of Contract |
| Statutes | ERA s162;Contractual Mistakes Act 1977;Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 s6;Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 s7;Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 s7(3) |
| Cases Cited | Goodall v Department of Corrections 92001] ERNZ 688 (EmpC);Westland Savings Bank v Hancock [1987] 2 NZLR 21 (HC) |
| Number of Pages | 14 |
| PDF File Link: | 2015_NZERA_Wellington_7.pdf [pdf 189 KB] |