Poor process costs employer $21,000…

An employee who worked as a manager had his employment terminated after the alleged restructuring of the employer’s company.

The Employment Relations Authority has upheld the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal as there was no substantive reason for the termination of his employment.

The ERA held that the employer failed to act as a fair and reasonable employer could in the circumstances by following a flawed disciplinary process. The employer failed to specify to the employee why he was being dismissed and gave the employee no opportunity to respond to the allegations. Therefore, the employer could not genuinely consider his responses.

The ERA found that the decision to make the employee redundant was unjustified as the employee was not provided with any information regarding the proposed restructure or any opportunity to comment upon it, prior to the decision being made.

The ERA awarded over $23,000 for lost wages plus $5,000 compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to feelings. The ERA ordered that these awards be reduced by 25 per cent because of the employee’s own contributions to his dismissal. The employee failed to act in good faith towards the employer and failed to raise concerns at an early stage which would have averted the entire situation leading to his dismissal.

Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer Wellington