| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 13/06 |
| Hearing date | 20 Oct 2005 |
| Determination date | 31 January 2006 |
| Member | J Crichton |
| Representation | L Andersen ; P McBride |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Mann v Cannon Hygiene NZ Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Constructive dismissal - Applicant resigned after hours were reduced - Applicant did not like installing part of job so had informal arrangement to share duties with another employee - With passage of time arrangement became less satisfactory for other employee so discussed issue with manager - Manager initiated discussions with applicant - Respondent sought to re-design applicant's job so that she only did sort of work she wanted to do but effect of that was to reduce hours - Respondent sought to find other work to supplement that - Applicant said she objected to reduction in working hours - No particular guidance to be derived from employment agreement - Was not until third meeting that applicant was told that the so-called status quo" situation was not acceptable to respondent - That was fatal to the process the respondent adopted because without that information available to the applicant at the beginning of the discussions, the applicant was not in full possession of material information - Was then confronted with letter which gave applicant option of accepting new role with dramatic reduction in guaranteed hours or possibly facing the reality of a dismissal - Constructive dismissal - Remedies - Contributory conduct 50 percent - Applicant turned down number of possibilities for being provided with extra hours - Noted that Authority was impressed with honesty and integrity of respondent's manager - Deep cleaner/installer" |
| Result | Application granted ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000 reduced to $2,500) ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($1,137.50 reduced to $568.50) |
| Number of Pages | 9 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 13_06.pdf [pdf 54 KB] |