| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 296/04 |
| Hearing date | 1 Mar 2004 - 2 Apr 2004 (3 days) |
| Determination date | 16 September 2004 |
| Member | R A Monaghan |
| Representation | K Thompson ; S Dench |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Kee v Bartercard New Zealand Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Serious misconduct - Harassment - Applicant's management style intense and intimidating - Deteriorating relationships with certain female employees - Employees reduced to tears on several occasions - Applicant dismissed following investigation and refusal of redeployment offer - Respondent entitled to reach view that way applicant handled certain staff interactions amounted to serious misconduct - Use of term harassment" to describe conduct not helpful - Failure to investigate how conduct of other employees contributed to disharmony in workplace not fatal to fairness of dismissal - Dismissal substantively and procedurally justified - Applicant not required by employment agreement to transfer at will of respondent - Refusal of redeployment as alternative justification for dismissal not accepted - UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Alleged unjustified suspension while investigation carried out - Decision to remove applicant from workplace during investigation justified - Not necessary to resolve whether suspension or leave by agreement - No unjustified disadvantage - PENALTIES - Not usual practice to award penalties for breaches of obligations identified as relevant to determination of personal grievance - In any event no breaches by respondent warranting imposition of penalties - Branch manager" |
| Result | Applications dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s65 |
| Cases Cited | Chief Executive, Department of Corrections v Harris [2001] ERNZ 426;Harris v Chief Executive, Department of Corrections [2000] 1 ERNZ 544;New Zealand Fire Service Commission v Reid [1998] 2 ERNZ 250;Northern Distribution Union v BP Oil NZ Limited [1992] 3 ERNZ 483;W & H Newspapers Limited v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 ; [2001] 3 NZLR 29;Whanganui College Board of Trustees v Lewis [2000] 1 ERNZ 397 |
| Number of Pages | 20 |
| PDF File Link: | PDF file not available for download, please contact us to request a copy. |