| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 215/06 |
| Hearing date | 30 May 2006 |
| Determination date | 23 June 2006 |
| Member | V Campbell |
| Representation | D Jacobson ; B Nabney |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Watson v New Zealand Electrical Traders Ltd t/a Bray Switchgear |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Redundancy - Whether redundancy genuine - No written employment agreement - Significant dispute over facts - Respondent's business cyclical - Applicant offered job at competing firm but declined offer - Applicant advised employment would be terminated as result of down-turn - Manager then retracted redundancy - Days later applicant advised employment would be that day - Applicant not told why chosen or given explanation of criteria used in judging who made redundant - No opportunity to discuss alternatives - Authority found it difficult to accept manager's evidence of down-turn severity - Evidence failed to establish applicant dismissed because of genuine restructuring or redundancy - Manager no longer wanted applicant working for him and saw redundancy as way to achieve that - Redundancy not genuine - Process inadequate - Unjustified dismissal - Remedies - Situation exacerbated by fact applicant declined good employment offer not knowing would be made redundant soon after - Although distressed applicant obtained alternative employment quickly - No contributory conduct - Lost benefit claim was contingent on finding genuine redundancy - Length of service one year five months - Electrician |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement for lost wages (1 week, 1 day) ($845.76) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000) ; No order for costs |
| Cases Cited | GN Hale & Son Ltd v Wellington Caretakers IUOW [1991] 1 NZLR 151;Nelson Aero Club Inv v Palmer unreported, Shaw J, 7 March 2000, WC 10A/00;Staykov v Cap Gemini Ernst & Young NZ Ltd unreported, Travis J, 20 April 2005, AC 18/05 |
| Number of Pages | 10 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 215_06.pdf [pdf 44 KB] |