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$13,000 compensation and wages for non-genuine redundancy

Pretending they had a redundancy situation to get rid of an unsatisfactory worker has cost a Christchurch employer $13,000 in wages and compensation.

The Employment Relations Authority agreed that making a position surplus for valid commercial reasons was open to an employer, but here the employer had taken on two new staff at the time and so the Authority found there was no genuine redundancy.

The employee was only 17 years old and suffered significant humiliation.  The award made reflected the humiliation suffered and that the employee was given no warning or explanation for his dismissal.