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Employee resigns after colleague says ‘good morning’…

A shop employee stormed out of an Auckland store after his colleague wished him a good morning. The two workers had an agreement not to speak to each other in the workplace which was reluctantly agreed to by management. The arrangement was put in place after the employee’s colleague wrote "I am gay" on his name badge. The employee has since resigned, saying his employer failed to prevent harassment in the workplace.

The Employment Relations Authority rejected the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal, and praised the supermarket for its efforts to resolve the dispute between the workers and to keep them both employed.

The ERA held that the employee had resigned voluntarily, and noted that the employer had conducted a formal investigation into the employee’s allegations, and had taken steps to address the employee’s concerns and to encourage him to return to work.