| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 169/05 |
| Hearing date | 1 Sep 2005 |
| Determination date | 27 October 2005 |
| Member | G J Wood |
| Representation | JA Burney ; J Gibbs |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Rouse v APN Print News and Media Ltd |
| Summary | PERSONAL GRIEVANCE – UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Applicant sought declaration that he be made redundant and paid redundancy and other compensation – Also alleged unjustified disadvantage – Covered by CEA – Change in operations meant management considered it necessary to install two shifts in Hastings plant – Inconsistent with hours of work clauses in CEA – As incentive to agree to changes respondent offered lump sum payment and increase of pay by $1 per hour – Parties agreed to new shift arrangements – No one wanted to transfer to late shift so one redundancy highly likely – Applicant prepared to take voluntary redundancy – Parties agreed to this though not in writing – However, member of day staff decided would work late shift which meant redundancy not necessary – Applicant informed would no longer be made redundant - Whether respondent bound by offer of voluntary redundancy – CEA made no provision for voluntary redundancy – Not open to respondent to resile from agreement – For agreement to have functioned it had to be a variation to the CEA – That changes not in writing was a technical matter - Otherwise the Union could argue that respondent was operating in breach of the hours of work clauses - Declaration made that applicant should have been made redundant – Lump sum payment paid to applicant to be offset against final pay - Unjustified disadvantage - Printer |
| Result | Application granted ; Declaration accordingly ; Orders accordingly ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 169_05.pdf [pdf 42 KB] |