| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | WA 121/10 |
| Hearing date | 29 Jun 2010 |
| Determination date | 05 July 2010 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | C Gray (in person) ; no appearance |
| Location | Napier |
| Parties | Gray v Blundell & Anor t/a The Coffee Club |
| Other Parties | Blundell Coffee Club Ltd |
| Summary | PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - No appearance for respondent - Identity of employer - Whether Mr Blundell personally or company applicant’s employer - Applicant claimed never advised company and not Mr Blundell was employer - Found Mr Blundell applicant’s employer personally - RAISING PERSONAL GRIEVANCE - Whether personal grievance raised within 90 days - Applicant claimed wrote to respondent raising grievance day after dismissal - Found in absence of witness statement from head chef confirming received resignation and respondent’s failure to follow up on it respondent’s claims inherently not credible - Authority satisfied grievance raised within 90 days - UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL - Applicant claimed received telephone call from respondent telling him not to come in to work - Applicant claimed when queried whether that meant not to return to work at all claimed respondent replied “That’s right. We don’t need you, we’re ok” - Respondent claimed applicant telephoned head chef and advised him would not be attending work and “that was it as far as his job was concerned” - Authority satisfied applicant dismissed - Found dismissal clearly breach of statutory requirements - Found no consultation about possibility of dismissal carried out - Dismissal unjustified - Remedies - No contributory conduct - Found applicant sufficiently attempted to mitigate loss - Reimbursement of 13 weeks lost wages awarded - $2,000 compensation awarded - Barista |
| Result | Applications granted ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($8,112) ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($2,000) ; Disbursements in favour of applicant ($70) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s103A;ERA s124 |
| Number of Pages | 4 |
| PDF File Link: | wa 121_10.pdf [pdf 14 KB] |