| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | CA 119/10 |
| Hearing date | 18 Jun 2008 - 27 May 2009 (3 days) |
| Determination date | 12 May 2010 |
| Member | P Montgomery |
| Representation | J Beck ; B Dorking |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | O'Neill v The Vice Chancellor University of Otago |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Constructive dismissal – UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE – Applicant claimed unjustifiably dismissed following difficulties experienced with Head of Department (“HOD”) – Applicant claimed problem arose following several angry responses by HOD to applicant’s advice regarding payment of funds and authorisation of expenses – Applicant claimed HOD became increasingly critical of work and hostile towards applicant – Applicant claimed circumstances generated consistent stress leading to sick leave – Respondent argued HOD unlikely to have been as aggressive as applicant described – Respondent claimed unaware of medical certificates confirming diagnosis of work related stress – Authority found HOD aware of medical certificate – Found behaviour of HOD not sufficiently serious to justify applicant treating employment agreement as ended – Found HOD’s inaction after seeing medical certificate fell short of what fair and reasonable employer would have done – Found unjustified action – Found applicant suffered significant disadvantage – Found applicant resigned – No dismissal – REMEDIES – $6,000 compensation for unjustified disadvantage appropriate – Administrative Assistant |
| Result | Application dismissed (unjustified dismissal) ; Application granted (unjustified disadvantage) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($6,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s103A;ERA s122 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | ca 119_10.pdf [pdf 29 KB] |