| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 73/06 |
| Hearing date | 21 Feb 2006 |
| Determination date | 13 March 2006 |
| Member | R A Monaghan |
| Representation | K Single ; P McBride |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Rackham v New Zealand Fire Service |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Cancellation of applicant's appointment to new position - Section 67 Fire Service Act 1975 provided that Chief Executive would put into place procedure for reviewing appointments made within respondent that were subject of complaint - Policies in schedule of parties' collective employment agreement set out review procedure and appointment policy - Applicant applied successfully for vacancy - Review provisions not mentioned when told of appointment - Two complaints made about applicant's appointment were upheld - Respondent emailed applicant to say vacancy cancelled - Position readvertised and applicant not appointed - Applicant alleged cancellation of appointment unjustified because offer was apparently unconditional - Overlooked fact that collective agreement set out terms and conditions of employment which incorporated review process - Respondent and individual bound by collective agreement could not contract out of review provisions as this would be inconsistent with terms and conditions of collective employment agreement - No concluded and unconditional agreement to transfer applicant - Applicant complained about conduct of review of his appointment - Limit on how far Authority could look into matter because decision-making process founded in statute - Not role of Authority to substitute its opinion for that of respondent on complaint relating to compassionate grounds - Reasonable for respondent to rely on information about length of service on face of completed application forms - No contractual right by appointee to be heard on review - Applicant disadvantaged but terms and conditions of employment were not affected by an unjustified action of respondent's - No personal grievance - Length of service nine years - Firefighter |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s61;ERA s103(1)(b);Fire Service Act 1975 s65(1);Fire Service Act 1975 s67;Fire Service Act 1975 s67(1);Fire Service Act 1975 s67(2) |
| Number of Pages | 7 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 73_06.pdf [pdf 42 KB] |