| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 104/06 |
| Hearing date | 12 Jul 2006 |
| Determination date | 18 July 2006 |
| Member | J Crichton |
| Representation | R Thompson ; no appearance |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Nicholls v Fox Manufacturing Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Misconduct - No appearance for respondent - Respondent in liquidation - After disagreement between applicant and worker, other workers refused to work with applicant - Applicant then redeployed to perform other work - Applicant questioned redeployment - Suspended after investigation - Alleged applicant failed to obey lawful instruction to perform work, and had negative affect on workplace - Workers' statements did not justify conclusion conduct so serious as to warrant dismissal - Was appropriate to question redeployment as had not seen job description - Respondent's evidence not credible - Procedural irregularities made dismissal resulting from process unsafe - Investigation so inadequate as to make dismissal substantively unjustified - Dismissal not decision fair and reasonable employer would have made - UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Disadvantaged by way respondent conducted itself at meeting, suspension and inappropriate process - Disadvantaged by way suspension raised at meeting, after respondent sought to persuade him meeting not disciplinary - Remedies - Significant award appropriate - Extreme health and financial consequences - COSTS - Given respondent's non appearance not appropriate to reserve costs - Investigation meeting less than one day - Applicant had incurred total costs of $4,900 - Tariff approach did not properly reflect efforts by applicant's representative in persevering with matter in most difficult circumstances - Length of service seven months - Beam saw operator |
| Result | Application granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($3,960) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($12,000) ; Costs in favour of applicant ($3,750) |
| Statutes | ERA s103A;ERA Second Schedule cl12 |
| Number of Pages | 10 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 104_06.pdf [pdf 57 KB] |