| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 251/07 |
| Hearing date | 7 Aug 2007 |
| Determination date | 15 August 2007 |
| Member | R Arthur |
| Representation | P Officer ; no appearance |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | LJS Employment Ltd v Mitchell |
| Summary | BREACH OF CONTRACT - Applicant sought reimbursement of training costs and damages for failure to give adequate notice - No appearance by respondent - Short term employment - Respondent accepted job but on fifth day of work rang in sick - Following week advised would be remain absent - Applicant sought disciplinary meeting to discuss unwillingness to work and lying about cause of injury - Respondent did not attend and advised would return uniform - Applicant considered employment abandoned but also wrote to respondent accepting her resignation - In reliance on terms of employment agreement, sought pay in lieu of notice and reimbursement of training costs - Employment agreement referred to forfeiting pay - Terms did not extended to requiring employee to pay compensation from own resources – Training provided by applicant related to routine systems of work - Applicant accepted respondent doing work while being trained - If respondent ordered to pay week’s ordinary pay net effect would be no pay for hours worked over the four days of her employment - Inconsistent with intent of Minimum Wage Act 1983 - Previous Authority determination found respondent’s requirement to repay training costs amounted to prohibited payment of premium for employment - Claim for two weeks pay dismissed - Employment agreement allowed for deductions from final pay - Small amount of holiday pay owing to respondent to be forfeited to applicant for failure to give adequate notice |
| Result | Application granted in part ; Orders accordingly ; No order for costs |
| Main Category | Recovery of Monies |
| Statutes | Minimum Wage Act 1983;Wages Protection Act s5;Wages Protection Act 1983 s12A |
| Cases Cited | Cardy Business Machines Ltd v Cowan unreported, C Hicks, 20 February 1996, AT43/96;PPP Industries Ltd v Doggett [1996] 2 ERNZ 234 (ET);Park v Brand Works Ltd, unreported, A Dumbleton, 26 October 2005, AA 426/05;LJS Employment Ltd v Matthews unreported, V Campbell, 11 April 2006, AA 125/06 |
| Number of Pages | 7 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 251_07.pdf [pdf 27 KB] |