| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 103/06 |
| Hearing date | 7 Dec 2005 |
| Determination date | 03 April 2006 |
| Member | L Robinson |
| Representation | M Ryan ; C Eggleston |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Taylor v The Centre for TPM Australasia Pty Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Redundancy - Respondent an Australian limited liability company not registered in New Zealand but submitted to Authority's investigation - At respondent's conference Managing Director (MD") told employees that if financial situation did not improve respondent would have to review what regions it could continue to support - Respondent's Financial Controller recommended to MD that one of two New Zealand staff be let go - One or two months later at applicant's regular performance review MD demanded applicant provide action plan to increase chargeable time - Next day MD told applicant her action plan was unacceptable and reminded her she had not met chargeable time target - Terminated applicant's employment with one month's notice - Applicant entitled to be treated fairly and sensitively but she was not - Warning at conference not consultation with applicant - Applicant thought telephone conversations were performance reviews but MD had termination for redundancy in mind - When MD resolved redundancy was possible he was obliged to communicate that to applicant and extend real opportunity to comment prior to making decision - Breach of duty of good faith - Real reason for dismissal was unhappiness with applicant's performance - Redundancy not appropriate response - Redundancy amounted to a sham - Unjustified dismissal - Remedies - Applicant entitled to reimbursement of lost wages because Authority not confident redundancy would have followed in any event - Sufficient mitigation of loss because applicant made 150 job applications - PENALTY - Authority declined to exercise discretion to award penalty - Length of service 10 months - Senior consultant" |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($22,500)(11 months less earnings) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($8,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s4 |
| Number of Pages | 7 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 103_06.pdf [pdf 75 KB] |