Your rights: Family stress takes toll

By PAUL MURRAY of Phillips Fox

Q. I have been employed for eight years on rotating shift work working for one organisation.

Up until 12 months ago I lived in Wellington and cared for my eight-year-old daughter as a single parent. I decided to move the both of us to a place outside the capital to live with my parents, who help me care for my daughter when I am at work. I have to commute a long distance to Wellington for work and spend about four days there and four days in our new home. Management is aware of my situation and the stress being away from home is placing on me.

I have applied for a transfer to an office nearer to where I live and have a letter from my company confirming I am suitable for a position there, but they continue to list new vacancies as new recruit positions. I am thinking of leaving the job as the management is ignoring my plight. What are my rights?

A. The issues you raise can be addressed in two ways, legally and practically.

From a legal perspective, the issues are first, your right to transfer, and second, issues of health and safety that arise from the stress you are suffering.

There is no legal right that allows an employee to transfer between different business units of an employer. Unless there are provisions in an individual's employment agreement that allow, or require, such a transfer, an employer is under no obligation to accept a request for a transfer.

On this point, it is best to seek help from an employment lawyer to determine what transfer rights you have under you employment agreement. Possibly you have the basis for a complaint of discrimination on the grounds of family status.

Employee stress covered by the Health & Safety in Employment Act does not have to be wholly work-related. However, now that you have raised the issue of stress your employer is under an obligation to investigate the cause of the stress.

In the above situation, it may be prudent to remind your manager of the stress issue and seek information about possible steps to reduce it. But at the end of the day, an employer is not responsible for stress resulting from your home situations.

From a practical point of view, further communication with management may be required. Although you state that the management is "aware" of your situation, the level and extent of this awareness appears unclear.

The following steps may be helpful in bringing greater attention to the situation:

* Reiterate the issue to local management, and copy any correspondence to a regional and, if possible, national level.

* A key point is to bring the issue to the attention of people beyond those already dealing with it.

* Make a case for how the transfer to an office nearer to your new home would benefit your employer.

By pursuing both the legal and practical aspects of the issue, you could possibly resolve it without having to leave.

Employment Relations Service

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