Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson (left) and Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen who took the Whangārei Fire station to the ERA over a senior role position. Photo / Susan Botting
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson (left) and Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen who took the Whangārei Fire station to the ERA over a senior role position. Photo / Susan Botting
In-house tensions, nearly two years of paid sick leave and unfulfilled agreements have culminated in a five-year employment dispute over a coveted senior role at Northland’s leading fire headquarters.
The man at the core of the dispute is also the deputy mayor of the href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/kaipara-district/" target="_blank">Kaipara District Council.
Jonathan Larsen has been in a five-year battle around his transfer from St Hellier’s in 2019 to the Whangārei station which was challenged by the New Zealand Professional Fire Union (NZPFU).
Larsen has been a councillor with Kaipara since 2016 and was sworn in as deputy mayor in 2022.
Larsen, who joined Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) in 1999, had served in various roles and was a station officer at St Hellier’s station in Auckland by 2017.
The station officer role leads a firefighter crew providing direction, assigning work and managing fire crews and is a highly sought-after role for career progression amongst firefighters.
Despite applying for a transfer on compassionate grounds in 2017 to a station officer role in Whangārei, his application was declined after an interview.
In response, Larsen raised a personal grievance with FENZ, requesting that the role be held open until his grievance was addressed, but FENZ refused.
Larsen then filed a statement of problem with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) in 2018 and through mediation, an agreement known as a Record of Settlement (RoS) was reached.
The RoS stipulated Larsen would commence duties as a station officer in Whangārei no later than November 2020, with the possibility of starting earlier if a position became available.
On May 15, 2019, FENZ offered Larsen a role which he accepted.
The dispute
A month after Larsen had resigned from his current role, the union raised a dispute claiming FENZ had breached employment guidelines by not putting the position out to others as required.
Employees were unhappy they did not have the opportunity to apply and Larsen reported health and safety concerns at Whangārei after being warned of “an enduring unpleasant work environment for him.”
Larsen advised he could not start his role until the dispute was sorted and went on paid sick leave on 1 July 2019 which would drag out 17 months.
During that period he was offered eight secondment opportunities at Whangārei in station officer and training roles which he declined advising, he wanted the permanent role.
After more than a year on paid sick leave, FENZ informed Larsen it would be undertaking a medical review of his fitness to work and he advised he was cleared to work from April 29, 2021.
The peace clause
The “peace clause” in the collective agreements was central to the issue for all involved maintaining employees remain in their current role until the dispute is sorted.
On April 29, 2021, Larsen was directed to report to his role at St Hellier’s pending the outcome of the ERA investigation, instead, he did not turn up and when his salary was stopped, FENZ said he must use his accrued annual leave.
Larsen contested that the directive he reported to St Hellier’s was unlawful.
He then raised several personal grievances against FENZ, including their failure to place him in Whangārei and not paying him when he was ready to work.
Jonathan Larsen claims to be the "workboot councillor" on his website.
The final decision
After multiple delays the hearing concluded in November 2023 and the ERA recently released its decision.
The ERA found that FENZ breached the RoS by not allowing Larsen to start the May 2019 role due to the NZFU dispute, which was irrelevant to the agreement’s fulfilment. This breach disadvantaged Larsen and justified his grievances.
The ERA noted FENZ made several attempts to resolve Larsen’s work location issue through offers of secondment, eight in total, which Larsen rejected.
Despite these opportunities, Larsen believed he should not have to take additional steps to facilitate his transfer because the issue was between FENZ and the union. The authority disagreed.
Larsen argued that his status quo should be his new role in Whangārei, but the ERA did not accept this, stating his current role remained at St Hellier’s until he officially started in Whangārei.
The ERA concluded FENZ’s actions were justified and reasonable engaging with Larsen in good faith and offering multiple solutions to enable him to work in Whangārei.
The Whangārei fire brigade fighting the town hall fire in 2019. Photo / NZME
“Mr Larsen held rigidly to his stance that he should not have to apply for any other positions because he already had the permanent Station Officer role he wanted in Whangārei, as recorded in the RoS. That stance was inconsistent with Mr Larsen’s duty of good faith, which required him to be constructive in resolving employment relations problems,” authority member Rachel Larmer stated.
“The instruction FENZ gave Larsen to report to work at the St Helliers Fire Station from 31 July 2021, and its decision to not continue paying him when he failed to do so, was procedurally justified.”
However, the ERA found Larsen’s claim regarding the requirement to use his accrued annual leave from April 29 to July 30, 2021, was substantively justified.
The authority said Larsen was misled to believe his employment agreement mandated this leave use, which it did not. He was awarded $5,000 for the procedural unfairness and distress caused by FENZ’s inadequate consultation regarding his leave use.
Larsen began a role at Whangārei in March of this year.
The remuneration for the deputy mayor role at the Kaipara District Council is currently listed in the local government members’ determination as $66,267.
Due to privacy issues, FENZ was unable to comment on the dispute. The union did not respond to requests for comment and Larsen had no comment to add.
FENZ informs Larsen of a medical review to assess his fitness to work; Larsen declares himself fit to return on April 29 2021.
April 29 - July 30, 2021:
Larsen uses his accrued annual leave.
FENZ instructs Larsen to return to St Hellier’s pending the ERA investigation, but he does not comply and is placed on unpaid leave.
June 28, 2021:
Larsen raises personal grievances with FENZ, including the failure to give him work in Whangārei and unpaid leave.
March 22, 2024:
Larsen begins work as a station officer in Whangārei after applying for an advertised vacancy.
November 2023/2024:
The ERA hearing concludes, and the final decision is released.
ERA Findings:
Breach of Record of Settlement: FENZ breached the RoS by not allowing Larsen to start the May 2019 role due to the union dispute.
Lawfulness of Instruction: The ERA found FENZ’s instruction for Larsen to remain at St Helliers and the cessation of his salary when he did not report there were lawful and reasonable.
Procedural Unfairness: The ERA ruled that while the requirement for Larsen to use his accrued annual leave was substantively justified, it was procedurally unjustified due to inadequate consultation. Larsen was awarded $5,000 for distress and procedural unfairness.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
