| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 14/08 |
| Hearing date | 12 Oct 2007 |
| Determination date | 17 January 2008 |
| Member | R Arthur |
| Representation | L McGregor ; C Goode |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | McWilliams v Spectrum Care Trust Board |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Redundancy process - After co-worker left, parties discussed continuing without replacing him and applicant took on additional duties - Applicant’s original role disestablished but she was not appointed to new position - Argued misled about consequences of removal of original role and prospects for future employment - Respondent submitted new role had significant additional duties and appointment of more skilled candidate justified - Applicant shortlisted for new role, but did not have meeting with CEO like external candidate - External candidate appointed after applicant withdrew application claiming restructure poorly conducted - Applicant had reasonable expectation that while formal position would disappear, role actually performing would continue, in large part the new project manager role - Held this view because roles were same or similar - Likely also view of respondent at time, or if not, it did not communicate anything different to applicant - No evidence that before respondent decided to advertise externally it considered whether applicant already doing so much of new role that she could not be said to be redundant - Lack of consideration also applied to appointment to role - Respondent did not appear to consider whether any gaps in applicant’s skills could be met by training - In addition, applicant not provided with job description to enable her to address any concerns - Unjustified disadvantage suffered by the applicant not failure of respondent to offer her new position, but rather how it came to decision not to do so - Unjustified disadvantage |
| Result | Application granted ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s4;ERA s4(1A);ERA s4(1A)(c);ERA s4(4);ERA s103A |
| Cases Cited | Aoraki Corporation Ltd v McGavin [1998] 1 ERNZ 601;Coutts Cars Ltd v Baguley [2001] 1 ERNZ 660;Simpsons Farms Ltd v Aberhart [2006] 1 ERNZ 825;GNH Hale & Sons Ltd v Wellington Caretakers and Cleaners;Union [1990] 2 NZILR 1079;NZ Fasteners Stainless Ltd v Thwaites [2000] 1 ERNZ 739;Russell Harris v Charter Trucks Limited unreported Couch J, 11 September 2007, CC16/07 |
| Number of Pages | 11 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 14_08.pdf [pdf 39 KB] |