| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 130/10 |
| Determination date | 22 March 2010 |
| Member | R Arthur |
| Representation | J Swan (Applicant in person) ; J Ropati |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Swan v GPK Group Ltd |
| Summary | COSTS - Applicant withdrew claim morning of Authority ordered mediation - No investigation meeting - Respondent sought $2,000 contribution to total costs of $3,500 - Found Employment Relations Act 2000 promoted mediation as primary mechanism for solving problems - Found direction to mediation resulted in applicant resolving not to proceed with claim - Found respondent subsequently spared costs of preparing for and participating in investigation meeting - Found while respondent understandably aggrieved about costs of addressing grievance raised out of time risk of having to respond to such an application was incidence and cost of being employer - Applicant claimed expressed desire to limit claim to recovery of holiday pay considered wrongly deducted - Found that claim not out of time and was question whether respondent lawfully entitled to make deduction - Found applicant’s advocate encouraged him to pursue personal grievance - Found successful personal grievance would have supported advocate’s own case against respondent in Disputes Tribunal - Found could not discount inference applicant lacked benefit of independent advice and representation in lodging grievance - Costs to lie where they fall |
| Result | Costs to lie where they fall |
| Main Category | Costs |
| Statutes | ERA s114(3);ERA s115;ERA s142;ERA s159;ERA Second Schedule cl15 |
| Cases Cited | PBO Ltd (formerly Rush Security Ltd) v Da Cruz [2005] 1 ERNZ 808 |
| Number of Pages | 3 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 130_10.pdf [pdf 16 KB] |