| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Auckland 18 |
| Hearing date | 21 Dec 2010 |
| Determination date | 17 January 2011 |
| Member | A Dumbleton |
| Representation | L Darroch ; D France |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Bourne v Carter Holt Harvey Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Applicant stated had never been convicted of criminal offence on employment application – Applicant offered employment conditional on receiving criminal conviction information – Criminal convictions report recorded five convictions applicant had accrued during three year period – Applicant invited to meeting to discuss report and respondent’s concerns regarding misrepresentation of personal information – Applicant warned matter serious and dismissal possible – Applicant’s explanations rejected by respondent – Applicant dismissed – Subsequently applicant raised personal grievance – Applicant claimed acted honestly, without intent to deceive or mislead – Authority found question whether fair and reasonable for employer not to accept applicant’s explanation of innocent mistake – Found respondent’s rejection of applicant’s explanation action of fair and reasonable employer – Found respondent reasonably entitled to believe applicant had not forgotten about offending for which convicted, even though offending six years before completed application form – Found respondent carefully evaluated applicant’s explanations before rejecting on grounds of credibility – Found unlikely applicant would have forgotten convictions – Authority rejected applicant’s argument about standard of representation at disciplinary inquiry – Found conditions of employment clearly stated in offer – Found continuity of employment dependent on condition being satisfied – Found no unjustified dismissal |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Statutes | ERA s103A;Clean Records (Clean Slate) Act 2003 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | 2011_NZERA_Auckland_18.pdf [pdf 25 KB] |