Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Auckland
Reference No AA 104/04
Hearing date 20 Nov 2003 - 23 Dec 2003 (3 days)
Determination date 25 March 2004
Member J Scott
Representation A Sharp ; M Hammond
Location Auckland
Parties Bay v Nu-Age Plaster Ltd
Summary UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - New company manager appointed - Applicant increasingly uncooperative and hostile towards manager and company owner - Manager requested software copy of certain formulations - Applicant believed formulations belonged to him and refused to comply - Manager suspended applicant on full pay - Applicant refused lawful and reasonable direction to provide information - Intellectual property - Employer entitled to act without further enquiry to preserve security of vital company information - Suspension justified - No unjustified disadvantage - UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Immediately following notification of suspension applicant attacked manager - Dismissed after disciplinary investigation - Explanatory letter to applicant before disciplinary meeting not evidence of predetermination - Inquiry thorough and fairly conducted - No bias arising from involvement of manager in inquiry - Decision to dismiss open to fair and reasonable employer - Production manager
Result Application dismissed ; Costs reserved
Statutes ERA s123(c)(i)
Cases Cited Airline Stewards & Hostesses of New Zealand IUOW v Air New Zealand Ltd [1990] 3 NZLR 549;Amaltal Fishing Co Ltd v Morunga [2002] 1 ERNZ 692;Gray v Nelson Methodist Presbyterian Hospital Chaplaincy Committee [1995] 1 ERNZ 672;Northern Distribution Union v BP Oil New Zealand Ltd [1992] 3 ERNZ 483;Peterson v Board of Trustees of Buller High School [2002] 1 ERNZ 139;W & H Newspapers v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 ; [2001] 3 NZLR 29
Number of Pages 21
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