| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 140/06 |
| Hearing date | 2 Oct 2006 |
| Determination date | 18 October 2006 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | P Barlett ; D Broadmore |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Lally v The Vice-Chancellor Victoria University of Wellington |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Misconduct - Applicant copied email criticising disciplinary process to contacts in email address book - Parties reached prior mediated settlement to attempt to resolve disputes internally - Applicant instructed not to disclose university matters to staff or external contacts - Applicant copied subsequent correspondence to all contacts - Respondent concluded behaviour misconduct and issued 12 month formal warning/instruction against repetition of such conduct - Authority found instruction not lawful - Without prior investigation, not fairly and reasonably open to respondent to conclude copying of email unreasonable, unjustified, or that applicant motivated by intention to bring respondent into disrepute and had not first given respondent opportunity to respond - Also not able to conclude applicant breached duty of good faith and fidelity - Warning unjustified - Subsequent disciplinary findings set aside since relied on unjustifiable instruction - Unjustified disadvantage - Applicant's conduct gratuitous, non-constructive and not an exercise of academic freedom" - Conduct fell short of good faith requirements - Would have found 100 percent contributory conduct had remedy been sought - Length of service 16 years until grievance - Associate professor" |
| Result | Application granted ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | Education Act 1989 s161;Education Act 1989 s161(3)(a);ERA s4(4);ERA s103A;ERA Schedule 1B cl14 |
| Cases Cited | Hobbs v North Shore City Council [1992] 1 ERNZ 32;Lowe v Tararua District Council [1994] 1 ERNZ 887;Poole v Horticulture and Food Research Institute [2002] 2 ERNZ 869;Rigg v University of Waikato [1984] 1 NZLR 149;Wellington's Clerical Workers' Union v College Group Ltd [1984] ACJ 315 |
| Number of Pages | 14 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 140_06.pdf [pdf 41 KB] |