Restrictions OK
Jurisdiction Employment Relations Authority - Wellington
Reference No WA 141/09
Hearing date 10 Sep 2009
Determination date 24 September 2009
Member D Asher
Representation JA Burney ; G Service, E Moore
Location Palmerston North
Parties Smith v Konica Minolta (NZ) Ltd
Summary UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Redundancy – Applicant argued unjustified dismissal and redundancy compensation owed – Respondent argued redundancy procedurally fair and genuine – Respondent claimed applicant subject to old individual employment agreement which did not provide for redundancy compensation because new one never signed – Authority found applicant never agreed to new individual employment agreement – Found applicant not entitled to redundancy compensation – Respondent used six criteria to determine redundancy – Respondent attributed scores that reflected complaints never put to applicant – Found reasons for redundancy not transparent – Found decision to terminate flawed – Dismissal unjustified – REMEDIES – No contributory conduct – $8,000 compensation appropriate – Service technician
Result Application granted ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($8,000) ; Costs reserved
Main Category Personal Grievance
Statutes ERA s124
Cases Cited Coutts Cars Ltd v Baguley [2001] ERNZ 660;EDS (NZ) Ltd v Shaddox [2004] ERNZ 497;Simpsons Farms Ltd v Aberhart [2006] ERNZ 825;Smith v Sovereign Ltd [2005] ERNZ 832
Number of Pages 8
PDF File Link: wa 141_09.pdf [pdf 28 KB]