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Employee dismissed while on study leave wins compensation…

The Employment Relations Authority has upheld a personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal after an employee was dismissed without any process being followed.

The employee had worked for the company for a number of years and it was agreed he would take a year off for study but be employed during that period for 10 hours per week.  He would also return full time at the end of the year.

The employer decided, after a few weeks, that it could do without his working 10 hours per week and dismissed him without any consultation.

The ERA held that the company should have gone through a redundancy consultation process and awarded 13 weeks lost wages ($2,600) and compensation ($4,000).