| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 131/05 |
| Hearing date | 8 Sep 2005 |
| Determination date | 28 September 2005 |
| Member | H Doyle |
| Representation | J Norman-Oke ; C French |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | B v C |
| Summary | RAISING OF PERSONAL GRIEVANCE - SEXUAL HARASSMENT - Application to raise personal grievance out of time - Applicant alleged employee X" sexually harassed her on one occasion in January 2003 - Left employment with respondent in October 2004 - Raised personal grievance in December 2004 - No clear complaint to respondent about X's alleged behaviour while employed - Respondent's liability did not arise until after applicant made complaint about behaviour to respondent - If respondent had been satisfied behaviour took place then it had to have taken practicable steps to prevent repetition of behaviour - Only if practicable steps not taken would applicant have personal grievance - No time limit for employee to make complaint to employer about sexual harassment - To benefit from protections afforded by s118 Employment Relations Act 2000 complaint needed to be made to employer during employment - Because no complaint made until after applicant left employment, no action occurred that could amount to personal grievance - If this was wrong, time for raising grievance had to run from date of X's alleged behaviour - Applicant's evidence fell short of establishing that for period of 23 months applicant unable to raise grievance - No exceptional circumstances - Publication of names and identifying details of applicant, respondent and X prohibited" |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Orders accordingly ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s108(1)(b);ERA s114(3);ERA s115(a);ERA s117;ERA s118 |
| Cases Cited | Telecom New Zealand Ltd v Morgan [2004] 2 RNZ 9 |
| Number of Pages | 3 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 131_05.pdf [pdf 21 KB] |