| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 254/06 |
| Determination date | 02 August 2006 |
| Member | J Scott |
| Representation | Electrical Workers Union ; K Dunn |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Welten v ABB Ltd |
| Summary | PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Whether personal grievance filed within three year limitation period - No dispute grievance raised within 90 day period - Applicant sent letter to respondent asserting grievance raised earlier in writing and verbally - Respondent accepted earlier submission and engaged in mediation with applicant - Authority could not ignore intention of time limit in s114(6) Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA") - Grievance always encompassed same set of facts - Not open to applicants to "cherry-pick" dates to suit themselves - One grievance raised on four occasions - Grievance not commenced within three years - In alternative asked Authority to exercise discretion to extend time - No explanation for failure to commence proceedings in time - Applicant appeared to be represented throughout - Not possible to assess merits of case - Respondent explained prejudice would suffer if extension granted given departure of critical management personnel - On balance not appropriate to exercise discretion to grant leave under s219 ERA - Could not grant as extension pursuant to s221 ERA as required matter be properly before Authority and this claim was not - Reference in s221(c) ERA to s114(4) did not open door to argue exceptional circumstances should be considered in determining whether to grant extension - Section 221(c) ERA must be read in light of grounds on which Authority may grant leave to raise grievance out of time - Applicant's exceptional circumstances irrelevant to application for extension to time limit in s114(6) ERA - Barred from having grievance heard - Field service engineer" |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s114(1), ERA s114(2), ERA s114(3), ERA s114(4), ERA s114(6), ERA s115, ERA s219, ERA s221, ERA s221(c) |
| Cases Cited | Roberts v Commissioner of Police unreported, Colgan CJ, 27 June 2006, AC 33/06 |
| Number of Pages | 6 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 254_06.pdf [pdf 37 KB] |