| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 136/05 |
| Hearing date | 14 Jun 2005 |
| Determination date | 23 August 2005 |
| Member | P R Stapp |
| Representation | D Patten ; R Buchanan |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Martin and Anor v Foodstuffs (Wellington) Co-operative Society Ltd |
| Other Parties | Anderson |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE – Actions occurred after 1 December 2004 – Applicants resigned giving two weeks’ notice to manager who anticipated them working out their notice – Another manager (“M”) took over while applicant’s manager was on leave – HR consultant (“B”) advised general manager that applicants were being disruptive – General manager told B to finish them up immediately and escort them off the premises – M informed applicants of this and escorted them off premises – Respondent alleged was invoking discretion in clause in agreement which allowed them to pay out notice instead of it being worked out – Applicants alleged were dismissed when escorted off premises – Applicants asked for reasons but no reasons were given – Previous case (under ECA) which had similar clause held that invoking the clause effectively placed employee on garden leave until expiry of notice, but that was not a dismissal – Good faith obligations under ERA, extended further by latest amendment – Did not appear that applicants were told the discretion clause was being invoked – May have received reasonable impression that were being dismissed – Being escorted off premises deprived applicants of ability to leave employment with dignity - Failure to provide reasons and to give applicants notice of decision to pay out notice period and escort them off premises was a breach of good faith – Unjustified disadvantage |
| Result | Application granted (Unjustified disadvantage) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($4,000(KM) ; ($3,000)(DA) ; Costs reserved |
| Cases Cited | Coca-Cola Amatil (NZ) Ltd v Kaczorowski [1998] 1 ERNZ 264;WestpacTrust v Stevens [2002] 2 ERNZ 682 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 136_05.pdf [pdf 38 KB] |