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Unjustified dismissal claim rejected…
The Employment Relations Authority has thrown out a claim for unjustified dismissal by an employee who alleged that the terms of her employment agreement had been unilaterally changed without her consent.
The employee alleged that accommodation was provided as part of her employment package and that that accommodation was taken away without consent. She also alleged that, because she was living in the accommodation, she was on call throughout the night and had not been paid on call wages for those hours. She also alleged that her holiday pay was incorrectly paid.
The Employment Relations Authority found that accommodation was not part of the employee’s employment agreement. She had been allowed to live in the accommodation as a favour by the employer because other accommodation was not available. It turned out that the employee did have a rental property, but was subletting that to someone else and staying free at the employer’s accommodation.
Because the employee was not required to be on call at night time her claim for on call wages was dismissed, as was her claim for incorrectly paid holiday pay.
The ERA held there was no unjustified dismissal and that the employee had abandoned her employment by failing to return after a period of sick leave.
Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington