| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 304/09 |
| Hearing date | 3 Dec 2008 |
| Determination date | 26 August 2009 |
| Member | M Urlich |
| Representation | A Taylor ; C Sanson, J Fisk |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Telfer & Anor v Coromandel Dairy Trust Ltd (in Liq) |
| Other Parties | Anderson |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Serious misconduct – Applicants (“T” and “A”) lived together on respondent’s farm property – Applicants sought finding unjustifiably dismissed – Respondent disputed unjustified dismissal – Respondent instructed T to relocate – T refused – T argued respondent made repeated and increasingly threatening approaches to secure agreement to relocate – Respondent made series of allegations and suspended T – Following day respondent failed to pay wages – Respondent received no response to allegations and dismissed T for serious misconduct – Dismissal not denied by respondent – A also claimed dismissed – Respondent argued A not employee but received proportion of T’s salary for tax purposes – Authority found A performed work for respondent and received payment for work – Found A employee of respondent and dismissed following T’s dismissal – Found no fair disciplinary process and no opportunity for applicants to respond to allegations – Allegations raised with T did not contain sufficient detail to meaningfully respond – Respondent’s decision to dismiss T unreasonable – Dismissal unjustified – Found A employee and dismissed – Respondent failed to discuss consequences of T’s dismissal and no opportunity given to comment on consequences – Dismissal unjustified – REMEDIES – No contributory conduct – Applicants sought orders relating to unpaid wages for last two weeks of employment – Found wages due and owing – Applicants claimed holiday pay owed based on combined salary – Respondent did not dispute this – T claimed lost wages of $7,800 – A claimed lost wages of $4,290 – Respondent ordered to reimburse lost wages – Interest payable – T sought $10,000 compensation – T claimed in refusing to relocate lost job and home and could not move on as respondent retained property and holiday pay – Compensation of $3,000 appropriate – A sought $10,000 compensation – A claimed lost job due to partner refusing to relocate and respondent’s actions impacted on personal relationship – Compensation of $2,000 appropriate – PENALTY – Applicants sought penalty against respondent for failure to provide information – Respondent failed to provide reasonable explanation as to why information not provided – Penalty awarded – Farm manager and farm worker |
| Result | Application granted ; Arrears of wages ($1,200)(T) ($860)(A) ; Arrears of holiday pay ($5,000) ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($4,800)(T) ($3,040)(A) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($3,000)(T) ($2,000)(A) ; Interest (calculated at 90-day bill rate plus 2%) ; Penalty ($100)(Payable to Crown) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s103A;ERA s124;ERA s135;ERA Second Schedule cl11 |
| Number of Pages | 10 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 304_09.pdf [pdf 27 KB] |