Hotel worker gets $17k over hours dispute

Hotel bell

A woman has been awarded nearly $17,000 after her hours were cut at a hotel where she worked in Timaru.

However, the hotel said her hours were reduced because she refused to work during the breakfast shift, the Employment Relations Authority said.

Lynley Carrington had worked for the Benvenue Hotel in Timaru for about two years and in the second year of her employment, Tayside Springs Limited took over as owners of the hotel.

When the new owners took over she was no longer given night porter duties but did not complain because she was still getting sufficient number of hours, Ms Carrington said.

She told the authority that she began to become unhappy with her hours in July or August 2012, when she started getting fewer hours, but noticed new staff members received more hours.

Manav Soni, from Tayside Springs Limited, said Ms Carrington's hours were cut because she did not want to work during the breakfast shift, and if she did she would have been able to make up her hours.

In February 2013, Ms Carrington saw an advertisement in the Timaru Herald for her position as restaurant manger at the hotel, the authority said.

Mr Soni said the advertisement had been advertised in the wrong paper and was meant for a Christchurch paper, as he was seeking a restaurant manager in his Christchurch hotel and the authority said they accepted Mr Soni's evidence in that respect.

Ms Carrington said she became increasingly unhappy as a result of her employment at the hotel and eventually resigned, the authority said.

Ms Carrington claimed she was unjustifiably constructively dismissed from her position at the hotel, as her hours were reduced until her income was too low to live off, and also claimed an unjustified disadvantage in relation to the reduction in hours.

Authority member David Appleton said he believed Ms Carrington was not offered enough work by management at the Benvenue Hotel.

"Although Mr Soni said she refused to work the breakfast shift, I believe that she would have agreed to do so if the offer had been made to her in clear and unambiguous terms."

Ms Carrington was awarded over $9200 in lost wages and $7500 for compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to her feelings.

Comment was being sought from Ms Carrington and the Benvenue Hotel.