A company in Levin recently sold its meat works plant.  However, the company kept employing the meat works manager in order to tidy up several outstanding matters.  Once these matters had been attended to, the company claims that the manager resigned, while the manager claims he had been made redundant.

The Employment Relations Authority had to decide what had in fact happened, because for the manager there was a significant difference as his employment contract included a generous redundancy package.

The only evidence that the manager had resigned was the word of one of the company’s directors – the company could not show the Authority a resignation notice from the manager.

The Authority decided that the manager had not resigned on the basis that the company could not provide a written notice of resignation.  There were no reasons for the manager to resign, especially as he knew that he would lose a substantial redundancy payout.

The Authority held that the manager was made redundant and awarded him compensation for his redundancy as well as for unpaid wages.  The Authority also awarded $8,000 compensation for humiliation and hurt.  The total awarded to the manager was over $155,000.

This case shows the importance of ensuring that a resignation, or other important employment decision or notice, is in writing.  If the company had a written notice of resignation it would have saved a significant amount in redundancy compensation and associated costs.

If you have any questions about this case or any other employment matter, feel free to phone Alan Knowsley, for a relaxed and confidential initial chat.