| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 67/08 |
| Hearing date | 21 Feb 2008 |
| Determination date | 15 May 2008 |
| Member | H Doyle |
| Representation | P Brown ; P Kiely |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Hill v Tasman Insulation New Zealand Ltd |
| Summary | DISPUTE - Applicant made redundant - Parties disagreed over which redundancy compensation policy applied - Employment agreement stated separate Salaried Redundancy Agreement (“SRA”) applied - However, applicant claimed shown different policy when offered position - Submitted influenced in his decision to enter employment agreement by common mistake and common intention alternative policy would apply – Words of employment agreement clear - Surrounding circumstances could not be used to vary or modify clear provisions of agreement - Authority not satisfied evidence warranted inference that reference in employment agreement to SRA was a common or shared mistake - Applicant may have mistakenly been given different redundancy policy when employed - However, no evidence to support a common intention that agreement should refer to alternative policy and not SRA - No mistake falling within s6(1) Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 - No common intention terms of alternative policy would apply to applicant - Claim for rectification dismissed - Clear and unambiguous words of employment agreement provided provisions of SRA would apply in event of redundancy - Respondent had paid applicant redundancy entitlements under employment agreement and SRA and in doing so had discharged its obligation |
| Result | Question answered in favour of respondent ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Dispute |
| Statutes | Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 s6(1);Contractual Mistakes Act 1977 s6(1)(a)(ii);ERA s103(3);ERA s162 |
| Cases Cited | Merbank Corporation Ltd v. Cramp [1981] NZLR 721;New Zealand Tramways and Public Transport Employees;Union Inc v. Transportation Auckland Corporation Ltd [2006] 1 ERNZ 1005 |
| Number of Pages | 9 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 67_08.pdf [pdf 40 KB] |