By Kathryn McKinney - 31 Oct 2023
Mr Green raised bullying complaints about a fellow
employee (A), which KiwiRail advised would be investigated. Mr
Green was initially invited to attend a meeting with A at which he
said he felt uncomfortable and pressured into shaking hands with
A.
Mr Green pursued his complaints formally after that meeting and
argued that KiwiRail failed to conduct a reasonable investigation
into his complaints. Following the investigation, KiwiRail
attempted to arrange a further facilitated meeting, which never
took place.
KiwiRail argued that a restorative rather than a punitive
approach was justifiably taken, including seeking a facilitated
meeting, and that this was consistent with its good faith
obligations.
The Authority held:
- Mr Green was entitled to have his complaint investigated
fully.
- That the investigation had not been fully conducted, and not
all the relevant information had been provided to Mr Green as part
of that investigation.
- Mr Green was disadvantaged by KiwiRail not taking appropriate
steps to investigate his safety concerns relating to bullying in
the workplace, not following its policies and procedures and
failing to comply with both the contractual and statutory duties of
good faith.
The Authority held KiwiRail's actions were procedurally
unjustified, and that "whilst a facilitated meeting of the type
proposed by KiwiRail may be an appropriate step, such an approach
appears inherently problematic where complaints of bullying are
unresolved. This is not least because the full scope and substance
of the issues cannot properly be understood until they have been
investigated."
Mr Green was awarded $13,500 in compensation for humiliation,
loss of dignity and injury to feelings.
Contacts
Kathryn
McKinney
Saleha
Hamid-Drew