Boot on other foot for bully battler
A workplace anti-bullying crusader slammed by the Employment Relations Authority for his ‘hectoring and bullying’ tone and Facebook name and shame campaigns is unrepentant despite copping a $30,000 fine.
But a top legal expert has dubbed his behaviour as that of a sore loser throwing a ‘hissy fit’.
Hamilton-based employment advocacy business CultureSafe NZ, its director Allan Halse, and consultant Tracey Simpson were fined the maximum available to the Employment Relations Authority.
ERA chief James Crichton imposed the penalty and awarded $3000 in damages after CultureSafe ignored the terms of a settlement between its client and her employer to disparage the organisation to politicians and threatened to name and shame it to its funding providers if it didn’t drop its case.
Details of the settlement agreement have been permanently suppressed. The ERA declined to comment on the case but Crichton, in his written decision, accused Halse and Simpson of sending emails ‘‘characterised by a hectoring, bullying tone’’ to the organisation’s lawyer.
Crichton said CultureSafe demonstrated an enthusiasm on its Facebook page to name and shame employers who the company believe had breached its health and safety obligations to staff.
‘‘That willingness to engage in that sort of offensive and improper identification of parties suggests to me an undesirable enthusiasm for exposing what CultureSafe sees as wrongdoing even if there is no evidence of such wrongdoing save for CultureSafe’s own representations on the matter.’’
Halse has slammed the ERA’s findings and says he is being persecuted for his calls to have the authority overhauled
Halse has previously written to Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Iain Lees-Galloway calling for Crichton to be fired for ‘‘corrupt behaviour’’ – comments one legal expert said bordered on contempt.
‘‘I’ve gone to the minister asking them to get rid of Crichton because he is causing harm to people who take cases to the authority by not providing a safe environment,’’ Halse said.
He has appealed the fine to the Employment Court.
Halse himself is no stranger to employment stoushes. In 2013, he was embroiled in an employment dispute with the Hamilton City Council. Halse, a union delegate, was dismissed by council bosses but challenged the decision and settled with the council after mediation. He has since started CultureSafe, which specialises in representing workers in bullying cases.
Halse rejected the ERA’s ruling that he was the one using a bullying tone.
‘‘Sure we went pretty hard in that case and I believe we had a right to because our client in that particular case was suicidal,’’ he said.
‘‘It makes us more determined because what it means is it’s actually brought the Employment Relations Authority out into the open and exposed them as an organisation that condones bullying.’’
But Victoria University law professor Gordon Anderson said the ERA had a solid track record and didn’t believe there was any political appetite to overhaul it.
Anderson said Halse’s criticisms of the ERA and Crichton could undermine the public’s confidence in the institution but didn’t believe it was a serious risk.
‘‘I suspect most people will consider this as a party that lost in the authority and are sounding off at some length rather than anything else,’’ Anderson said.
‘‘Most people will take this as it sounds which is a particular person who doesn’t like the result and is throwing a hissy fit.’’
‘‘I’ve gone to the minister asking them to get rid of Crichton [ERA chief ] because he is causing harm to people who take cases to the authority . . .’’
Allan Halse
The ERA was set up 18 years ago to provide an effective and affordable forum to resolve employment disputes that couldn’t be settled by mediation.
Although the authority could be improved, it was performing better than its predecessor, the Employment Tribunal, Anderson said.