| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 378/05 |
| Hearing date | 20 Sep 2005 |
| Determination date | 26 September 2005 |
| Member | R Arthur |
| Representation | G Pollak ; J Gray |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Batt v Laine Furnishings (NZ) Pty Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Whether dismissal or resignation - Applicant had expressed dissatisfaction that role was not as challenging and varied as had hoped -Meeting between sales manager and applicant to discuss applicant's unhappiness in the job - Sales manager wanted her to think about whether the role was suitable for her - Suggested she take the weekend to think it over - Applicant replied that she did not need the weekend as had already decided position was not right for her - Dispute about what was meant by conversation - Applicant alleged meant was going to leave in future, but did not resign - Respondent thought was resignation - After work applicant contacted sales manager to clarify that she couldn't resign on short notice - Employer should allow cooling off period - Obligation to allow opportunity for employee to reconsider statement of resignation may be greater under Employment Relations Act 2000 - Dismissal by sending away - Applicant's expression of wanting to leave the sooner, the better" was most likely an outburst of frustration - Any ambiguity over resignation was resolved within 24 hours which was within the 48 hour period sales manager had offered applicant to reconsider - Unjustified dismissal - Sales consultant" |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages (10 days) ; Vehicle allowance (Two months) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($3,000) |
| Cases Cited | Boobyer v Good Health Wanganui unreported, Goddard CJ, 24 February 1994, WEC 3/94;Harris & Russell Limited v Slingsby [1973] 3 All ER 31;Little Earth Ltd t/a Kiwi Hilton Backpackers v Luxmoore unreported, Travis J, 8 December 1999, AC 103/99;Malaysia Airline System BHD (New Zealand) Ltd v Malone [2003] 1 ERNZ 494;Milburn v Waikato District Health Board unreported, A Dumbleton, 11 February 2004, AA 49/04;NZ Labourers General Workers and Related Trades IUOW v Hodder & Tolley Ltd [1989] 1 NZILR 430;Sandall v New Zealand CCS (Otago Branch) unreported, H Doyle, 16 September 2003, CA 98/03 |
| Number of Pages | 5 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 378_05.pdf [pdf 37 KB] |