| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Wellington 4 |
| Hearing date | 22 Dec 2010 |
| Determination date | 25 January 2011 |
| Member | P R Stapp |
| Representation | N Christopher ; B Pepperell |
| Location | New Plymouth |
| Parties | Kane v Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd |
| Summary | RAISING PERSONAL GRIEVANCE – Applicant sought leave to raise grievance out of time – Claimed exceptional circumstances existed justifying leave – Authority found issues whether applicant made reasonable arrangements to raise grievance and did agent unreasonably fail to ensure grievance raised – Applicant claimed understood union would be raising grievance – Subsequently union secretary made decision not to raise grievance – Union stated informed applicant’s sister and lawyer that union would not raise grievance in 90 day period following dismissal – Applicant relied on s115(b) Employment Relations Act 2000 in that made all reasonable arrangements to have grievance raised by union who unreasonably failed to raise grievance – Authority preferred evidence of union – Found applicant did not pursue matter as was required and evidence fell short of establishing instructions to union to raise grievance – Authority noted best practice if union raised grievance and then left matter for applicant to pursue – Found no obligation on union to raise grievance – Found union exercised discretion, albeit inadequately by not properly communicating decision to applicant or sister in writing – Found applicant did not make reasonable attempt to have grievance raised by an agent when union made decision not to raise grievance – Found no exceptional circumstances existed |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Raising PG |
| Statutes | ERA s114(4);ERA s114(4)(b);ERA s115(b) |
| Cases Cited | The Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections v Waitai and Ors, unreported, Travis J, 21 Dec 2010 ([2010] NZEmpC 164);Melville v Air New Zealand Ltd, unreported, Travis J, 8 Jul 2010 ([2010] NZEMPC 87) |
| Number of Pages | 9 |
| PDF File Link: | PDF file not available for download, please contact us to request a copy. |