| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Wellington |
| Reference No | [2011] NZERA Wellington 102 |
| Hearing date | 8 Feb 2011 - 24 May 2011 (2 days) |
| Determination date | 14 June 2011 |
| Member | D Asher |
| Representation | D Cooper, J Cooper (in person) ; T MacKinnon |
| Location | Wellington |
| Parties | Cooper v Secretary for Education |
| Summary | UNJUSTIFIED DISADVANTAGE – UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – Constructive Dismissal – Applicant claimed unjustifiably dismissed and unjustifiably disadvantaged by respondent – Applicant claimed subjected to work-related stress over prolonged period and bullying by manager – Applicant claimed issues raised with respondent but concerns not addressed – Applicant claimed group manager (“G”) did not undertake full and fair investigation of applicant’s complaint and failed to report back to applicant of outcome – Applicant claimed respondent failed to provide safe working environment and failed to follow own harassment prevention policy – Applicant claimed respondent pre-empted outcome of facilitation process and arranged return of manager – Applicant claimed resignation foreseeable – Authority found after raising concerns with G, secondment arranged of applicant’s manager to another office – Applicant not happy with proposal applicant work out of another team – Applicant and manager agreed to undertake facilitation process under respondent’s harassment policy – Applicant resigned – Found applicant did not raise grievance until resignation letter – Found respondent could rely on belief because of applicant’s agreement to facilitated process, respondent had fairly and reasonably met applicant’s concerns – Found applicant did not attempt to clarify concerns expressed in resignation letter by referring concerns to respondent – Found no evidence to support applicant’s claim respondent decided to return applicant’s manager to previous role and therefore no evidence to support resignation based on claim – No disadvantage – No dismissal |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Personal Grievance |
| Cases Cited | Creedy v Commissioner of Police [2006] ERNZ 517;Department of Corrections v Waitai [2010] NZEMPC 164 |
| Number of Pages | 11 |
| PDF File Link: | 2011_NZERA_Wellington_102.pdf [pdf 34 KB] |