Dispute over hours of work leads to unjustified dismissal...

An employee brought a claim for unjustified dismissal in the Employment Relations Authority after his employer terminated his employment because he was unhappy with the employee’s working hours.

The employee’s initial hours of work were 10am to 6pm and this was later amended to 10:30am to 6:30pm. While the store was open from 9am to 5pm, the employee’s hours gave him time to do some uninterrupted technical work after the store was closed. It also accommodated the employee’s troubled sleeping patterns which made it difficult for him to start work early.

The employer was unhappy that the employee was not present during the store’s business hours. Sometimes clients had to be asked to come back at a later time which the employer thought was terrible service. He proposed the employee sign a new employment agreement with the hours being 8:30am to 5pm.

The employee refused to change his working hours and was called into a meeting with the employer and the employer’s lawyer. During the meeting the employer’s lawyer stated that the new hours proposed would not change and asked the employee whether he wanted to stay or whether he should look for another job.

The employee eventually resigned during the meeting. He was told he would not have to come into work the next day nor any other day after that as he was no longer employed.

The Authority determined that this dismissal was not just a constructive dismissal but there had been an actual dismissal during the meeting because the employee was effectively “sent away” by the employer.

The employer was wrong to have imposed a non-negotiable alteration to the hours of work. The employee was not given a chance to discuss his working options, and the employer raised the idea of resignation first, showing a serious lack of due process.

The Authority ordered the employer to pay the employee $12,000 as compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to feelings, in addition to two weeks wages.

If employers are unhappy with the terms of an employee’s employment, they must take care to follow a due process to address their concerns and give an employee a chance to participate in the decision-making process.

They should also seek legal advice from a legal professional experienced in Employment Law to discuss their options and avoid facing hefty sums in compensation for causing a personal grievance. 

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.