| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Christchurch |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Christchurch 11 |
| Hearing date | 25 Jun 2010 |
| Determination date | 18 January 2011 |
| Member | M B Loftus |
| Representation | J Sanders ; S Grace, W Harris-Daw |
| Location | Christchurch |
| Parties | Burke v Gracestone Granite and Marble Ltd |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE – UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Constructive dismissal – Applicant claimed disadvantageous actions amounted to course of action to procure resignation – Respondent changed applicant’s job description – Applicant claimed to lose 85 percent of duties previously performed – Respondent claimed accounting functions should be performed by employee with appropriate skills – Applicant complained to respondent felt changes meant applicant demoted – Respondent raised issue about poor attendance – Applicant issued with written warning for poor attendance – Applicant claimed warning added to stress – Applicant claimed respondent forged applicant’s signature on quote – Respondent accepted removal of accounting functions from applicant’s role was demotion – Found change to job description disadvantageous – Found respondent brought up unrelated disciplinary issue in meeting about job description – Found procedural minima not adhered to – Found signature suspicious but other breaches significant for applicant to consider constructively dismissed – Found resignation foreseeable – Found constructive dismissal – Dismissal unjustified – REMEDIES – No contributory conduct – Found no need to consider remedies for unjustified disadvantage as disadvantageous actions gave rise to dismissal – Found other events occurring in life contributed to stress – $5,000 compensation appropriate – $8,840 reimbursement of lost wages appropriate – Administrator |
| Result | Application granted ; Compensation for humiliation etc ($5,000) ; Reimbursement of lost wages ($8,840) ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Cases Cited | Abdalla v Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Institute of Technology unreported, Colgan J, 5 May 2006, CC 4/06;Auckland etc Shop Employees etc IUOW v Woolworths (NZ) Ltd (1985) ERNZ Sel Cas 136;NZ Performance & Entertainment Workers Union v 93FM Independent Broadcasting Co Ltd [1991] ERNZ 774;RMS Shopfitters Ltd v Baldwin [1998] 2 ERNZ 387 |
| Number of Pages | 11 |
| PDF File Link: | PDF file not available for download, please contact us to request a copy. |