A teacher has won $5000 from a Wellington school after a personal grievance hearing before the Employment Relations Authority.
Stuart Selwood, who has since been diagnosed with terminal cancer, took action against Queen Margaret College, claiming it had disadvantaged him in his employment by various unjustifiable actions, and
had constructively dismissed him.
Dr Selwood's primary disadvantage grievance was raised in February 2006, and concerned his view that certain of his responsibilities had been removed from him, that he was forced to sign a job description embodying the removal, and that he was threatened with redundancy if he did not sign the job description.
A second disadvantage grievance was raised in June 2006 and concerned Dr Selwood's objection to an instruction that he move to an office he considered unfit for human habitation, in circumstances where he considered any move was unnecessary.
He resigned shortly afterward and raised another personal grievance on the ground that the resignation amounted to an unjustified constructive dismissal.
Dr Selwood was an information technology specialist and taught at the school between June 2003 and July 2006.
Authority member Rosemary Monaghan ruled that a letter from college principal Carol Craymer, which mentioned redundancy, was inappropriate and Dr Selwood was awarded $5000 compensation for injury to his feelings.
He had originally asked for $74,000, but later downgraded that to $59,000.
Ms Monaghan said he had not been constructively dismissed, nor that the school had acted unjustifiably over the new office space. Nor was it accepted that the school had harassed witnesses who had supported Dr Selwood.
Costs were reserved for the parties to attempt to reach agreement.
Dr Selwood had claimed that the stress induced by what was happening at school had made him miss bowel cancer symptoms until the cancer was incurable, but Ms Monaghan said "the possibility could not be any more than speculative".
- NZPA
