| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 55/02 |
| Hearing date | 5 Jun 2002 |
| Determination date | 28 June 2002 |
| Member | G J Wood |
| Representation | G Pollak ; J Pearson |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Hudson v ASURE New Zealand Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Misconduct - Relationship with lower employee - Relationship considered poor exercise in judgement for senior employee - Employee reported directly to applicant - Asked to admit error in judgement as part of disciplinary process - Refused to admit wrongdoing - Refused to attend disciplinary meeting - Dismissed for refusal to admit wrongdoing - Perception of conduct detrimental to company - No company policy on relationships between employees - Not entitled to force admission of wrongdoing - Relationship did not amount to serious misconduct - Not open to fair and reasonable employer to dismiss - UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE - Whether predetermination - Applied for promotion - Informed would not be considered because of poor judgement - Alleged poor judgement due to personal relationship with co-worker - Raising of personal grievance - Disadvantage grievance out of time |
| Result | Application granted (Unjustified Dismissal) ; Application dismissed (Unjustified Disadvantage) ; Reimbursement of lost wages (Quantum reserved) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($8,000) ; Costs reserved |
| Statutes | ERA s125;ERA s160(3);Human Rights Act 1993 s21 |
| Cases Cited | Day v Whitcoulls Group Ltd [1997] ERNZ 541;Kotzikas v LEP Freightways International Ltd unreported, Palmer J, 18 October 1996, CEC 31/96;Macadam v Port Nelson Ltd (No 2) [1993] 1 ERNZ 300;Northern Distribution Union v BP Oil NZ Ltd [1992] 3 ERNZ 483;Sky Network Television Ltd v Duncan [1998] 3 ERNZ 917;W & H Newspapers Ltd v Oram [2000] 2 ERNZ 448 ; [2001] 3 NZLR 29 |
| Number of Pages | 21 |
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