Employee unfairly dismissed after voicing bullying concerns

A woman made redundant after raising concerns over bullying in her workplace has been awarded $20,000 and lost wages.

The Employment Relations Authority found that Vivien Marshall had been disadvantaged in her job at the Nelson English Centre and had been unjustifiably dismissed.

Marshall worked as a homestay coordinator at the centre from April 2001 until September 2017, when she was made redundant.

The authority said Marshall and centre general manager Miles Fitton had a disagreement at a staff meeting in mid-2017. Afterwards, she said, Fitton would not speak to her unless it was absolutely required, and she was excluded from discussions about homestay issues.

She claimed that Fitton found fault in what she did, and often told her about this in front of other people. Her annual performance review was postponed twice.

Marshall raised the issue with centre director James Upton, and a meeting was held, but she said she still felt bullied.

In August 2017, Upton told Marshall about his plans to restructure the organisation, with her position being made redundant. At a subsequent meeting, Marshall claimed Fitton told her he did not trust her, and that she was a ‘‘lost cause’’ as far as her computer skills were concerned.

Marshall said she was extremely distressed after the meeting and could not stop crying. Her doctor found she had high blood pressure.

She felt that her complaint about bullying hadn’t been addressed and was overcome by the proposed redundancy.

Upton later told Marshall he intended to abolish her current role in December 2017. She told Upton she had taken legal advice, and she claimed he begged her not to involve lawyers.

When they met the next day, she said Upton would not enter into a discussion without proof she had retracted her bid to seek legal advice. Things became heated, and the meeting ended when Upton left.

Marshall was certified medically unfit for work, and was at home when she received a letter confirming her redundancy.

She sought compensation of $50,000, but the company counter-claimed for $35,000, alleging a breach of good faith and breaches of contract. However, these were not upheld by the authority.

The company denied Marshall’s claims, saying the issues between her and Fitton had been resolved before any potential redundancy was raised. Her eventual redundancy was reached after ‘‘a fair process’’, it said.

Authority member Christine Hickey found that the centre’s approach to Marshall’s bullying claim was insufficient and led to her heightened sense of unfairness for the rest of her employment.

Hickey said a fair and reasonable employer would not have proceeded with a redundancy consultation process while Marshall was unwell and the complaint of bullying had not been resolved.

The Nelson English Centre was ordered to pay Marshall the equivalent of 26 weeks’ wages, plus $20,000 for the significant effects the unjustified dismissal took on her physical and emotional health.