| Summary |
UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Redundancy - Applicant shareholder and executive director of respondent - Involved in establishment of respondent and subsequently employed by it - No employment agreement or job description - Working relationship with other director strained - Other director claimed had to take on applicant's responsibilities - Respondent's Board considered restructuring - Applicant wrote suggested job description for himself as Sales and Marketing Director - However, other shareholders met independently and considered applicant's position should be disestablished and replaced with specialist roles - Proposal document contained comments adverse to applicant but he was not shown it or given opportunity to comment - Applicant sought meeting with Board to express concerns - Before he spoke, given letter advising him of proposed restructuring and redundancy - Felt stunned and that opportunity to say anything gone - Respondent could not explain why applicant not given chance to speak or advised purpose of meeting changed - Although applicant advised could apply for new roles, evident applying for senior marketing role would be futile - Submission decision to dismiss made without authority not accepted, formal Board resolution or shareholder approval not required - Difficulties between applicant and other director relevant to restructuring proposal and should have been disclosed to Board - If other director doing as many of applicant's duties as claimed, then his position also being restructured yet not required to reapply - Applicant's role and new" position fundamentally same - Position had not disappeared - Respondent also submitted applicant did not have requisite skills - Performance issue disguised as redundancy - Redundancy not genuine and carried out in unfair manner - Dismissal unjustified - Remedies - Respondent opposed reinstatement based on lack of skills - Because matter treated as redundancy Authority in no position to judge applicant's skill level, and neither was company - Applicant to be reinstated to position of Sales and Marketing Director with duties as set out in job description he prepared - Indicated open to reviewing role and Authority commented mediator could assist return to work - Director" |