| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 113/05 |
| Hearing date | 30 Mar 2005 - 5 Jul 2005 (2 days) |
| Determination date | 11 July 2005 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | M Andrews ; I Gordon |
| Location | Palmerston North |
| Parties | Lash v TelstraClear Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Redundancy - Restructuring - Applicant advised by telephone of proposal to disestablish position and invited to provide feedback by certain date - Deadline for feedback extended - Applicant failed to provide feedback - Advised by letter of final decision to disestablish position - Invited to provide feedback on future options such as reassignment or redundancy - Applicant twice emailed respondent raising concerns about disestablishment of position - Also sought explanation for alleged reduction in workload since disestablishment first proposed - No response from applicant - Employment terminated on grounds of redundancy - No substance to applicant's allegation that decision to disestablish position predetermined - Initial telephone conversation referred to disestablishment as proposal not finalised decision as alleged by applicant - Ongoing communication with applicant consistently referred to disestablishment as proposal and invited input - Genuine redundancy - Genuine communication process afforded applicant opportunity to enjoy real consultation - No deliberate decision to stop supplying work to applicant - Any change to work pattern could be otherwise accounted for - No unjustified dismissal - UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Letter advising of final decision to disestablish position provided opportunity to raise matters only in respect of future options - Applicant's emails raised concerns about substance of decision to disestablish - Deadline for input into that decision had already passed without any communication from applicant - Respondent free to regard input in emails as out of time and ignore matters raised - Failure to reply to emails not unjustified disadvantage - Senior business support consultant |
| Result | Applications dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s103(1);ERA s123(c)(i);ERA s173(2)(b) |
| Number of Pages | 9 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 113_05.pdf [pdf 37 KB] |