| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 147/06 |
| Hearing date | 19 Oct 2006 |
| Determination date | 27 October 2006 |
| Member | G J Wood |
| Representation | B Bevan ; no appearance |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Iles v Dry Run Holdings Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Respondent registered in New Zealand but run in Australia - Signed employment agreement stated relationship between applicant and franchise trading name PH - Respondent employer at time of termination - Clearly breach of good faith and likely to be misleading if employer failed to describe actual name of employer - PH sold to D - Representatives of D arrived at applicant's store and told staff store closing in two days, and could apply for jobs with D - PH did not contact staff to explain what would happen or give notice - Respondent's director claimed sale and purchase agreement had condition D would take over responsibility for employees on sale, and sale confidential - No evidence provided of agreement - Trite law employer could not transfer employees to new employer without specific approval - Such approval not sought or gained in this case - Would not have been productive to direct mediation - Applicant's dismissal was effect of sale of franchise - Positions offered by D all significant distance away store - Applicant acted reasonably in declining to apply for position - Failed to consult in redundancy situation and pay notice - Unjustified disadvantage - Genuine redundancy as whole business sold - Dismissal justified - Remedies - Compensated for failure to consult and give notice - ARREARS OF WAGES - Applicant not paid final week's wages or payment in lieu of notice - Should have been given two weeks notice - Wages due and owing - COSTS - Applicant assisted by community law centre - Length of investigation meeting not specified - Filing fee only expense incurred - Respondent to reimburse filing fee - Length of service five years four months - Fast food worker |
| Result | Application granted (Unjustified disadvantage, arrears of wages) ; Application dismissed (Unjustified dismissal) ; Arrears of wages ($840) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($3,500) ; Disbursements in favour of applicant ($70)(Filing fee) |
| Statutes | ERA s4(1A) |
| Cases Cited | Simpson Farms Ltd v Aberhart [2006] 1 ERNZ 825 |
| Number of Pages | 4 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 147_06.pdf [pdf 20 KB] |