Waikato Business News August/September 2016

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8 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2016 Sexual harassment complaints need a sensible approach This month’s column is about sexual harassment, or more precisely, what it isn’t. It would be fair to say that many employers struggle with employee complaints relating to sexual harassment, bullying and racial discrimination, as complaints from employees in these areas can be quite subjective. Due to the serious nature of such complaints, employers should carefully balance the needs of the complainant and the accused to ensure fairness to both. The repercussions of getting it wrong in either case can be devastating. An Employment Relations Authority (Authority) case from 2015 indicates just how wrong an employer can be. Out of respect for the employee wrongly accused of sexual harassment in this case, and whose name was subsequently cleared by the Authority decision, we will refer to him simply as ‘Mr K.’ Mr K was employed as a supervisor for a company, Programmed Facility Management NZ Limited (PFM), that provides property maintenance services to clients, including the New Zealand Government. Mr K’s role involved him visiting Housing New Zealand NOBODY KNOWS HAMILTON LIKE US LODGERENTALS.CO.NZ EMPLOYMENT LAW > BY ERIN BURKE Employment lawyer and director at Practica Legal Email: erin@practicalegal.co.nz phone: 027 459 3375 properties to inspect them for maintenance requirements. In July 2015, while waiting for his car to be serviced, he was introduced to a previously unknown co-worker, Ms N, who was also waiting for her car to be serviced. As Mr K’s car was ready first, Ms N asked for a ride back to the office with him. During the drive, the two chatted, and Ms N texted Mr K her phone number. He suggested they stop for coffee, however, Ms N declined. Ms N’s subsequent complaint also suggested that Mr K had taken the long way back to the office so he could continue chatting, although Mr K denied this, saying it was the most efficient route due to traffic. The following day, Ms N mentioned to the operations manager that she had felt the interaction was inappropriate. The operations manager suggested she put her concerns in writing, which Ms N did via email, stating …I found Mr K very friendly, although at times felt a bit uncomfortable with his comments as although they could be construed as being friendly – I did feel they were inappropriate. The remaining three sentences of the email mentioned the offer of coffee, the longer route taken to the office and that she felt quite awkward. Mr K was suspended and then dismissed for sexual harassment, following a brief disciplinary investigation. Sexual harassment? Really? Section 108 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (‘Act’) defines sexual harassment. The only sections that could be relied on in this case were ss 108(b) (i) or (iii) which, respectively, prohibit: (i) the use of language (whether written or spoken) of a sexual nature; or (iii) physical behaviour of a sexual nature…[which] directly or indirectly subjects the employee to behaviour that is unwelcome or offensive to that employee (whether or not that is conveyed to the employer or representative) and that, either by its nature or through repetition, has a detrimental effect on that employee’s employment, job performance, or job satisfaction. Would any right-minded person seriously consider one colleague suggesting coffee to another, to come within these definitions? To make matters considerably worse, the employer got the disciplinary process completely wrong. A fair process in employment law terms is outlined in s 103A of the Act and is based on the principles of natural justice (see p 39, WBN June/July 2016 for a basic outline). One of those principles is that an employer must provide an employee with all relevant information that the employer might rely on when making a final decision in a disciplinary matter, and allow the employee the opportunity to comment on that information. In this case, despite Mr K’s lawyer requesting all relevant information, PFM did not even provide Ms N’s brief email until documents were filed with the Authority, long after Mr K had been dismissed. PFM also made the decision to dismiss on other information not provided to Mr K such as an assessment that Ms N was not an overly-sensitive person due to her farming background and that Mr K lacked credibility because his lawyer did most of the talking at the disciplinary investigation. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the fact the Mr K was a non-native English speaker, the latter was held to be particularly unfair. Mr K was awarded six months’ lost remuneration and $20,000 compensation for hurt and humiliation. These awards are quite high for Authority remedies, however, it hardly seems sufficient given the impact the dismissal for sexual harassment had on Mr K. Mr K was so ashamed of the situation, that he did not tell his daughters and pretended to continue going to work each day. When the daughters found out about the dismissal from others at the family’s church, they became very distrustful of their father, which caused him additional angst and stress. He withdrew from the voluntary community projects he and his wife were involved in and came close to suffering a complete mental breakdown—all over suggesting coffee to a colleague. By no means am I suggesting that sexual harassment complaints not be taken seriously. There are some very real and traumatic cases that would unquestionably warrant summary dismissal. However, if the employer in this case had received even a modicum of sensible legal advice before acting, this entire sorry matter could have been avoided. SPA2036 WE’RE LOCAL LIKE YOU We know what business is like where you live, because we live there too. We’ll come to you, giving you a dedicated business communications expert and regular tech checks to ensure you have the right solutions. CALL 0800 BUSINESS TO FIND OUT WHAT SPARK BUSINESS CAN DO FOR YOU SPA2036 Generic Local Like You ad 260x100mm FA.indd 1 21/04/16 4:05 pm
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2016 9 Digital Thinking Are you ready for the digital workplace? Cloud computing, big data and agility are changing the face of doing business. As organisations seek better data processing and analytics solutions to gather and make sense of the wealth of information available in their business we ask Vo2’s new tech leader, Garry Johnston, about the meaning of a digital workplace in today’s business environment. You’ve recently joined Vo2 as the company’s new Group CEO, tell us about your career in IT and the changes you’ve seen in regard to how organisations approach technology in their workplace? I was really fortunate to have started my career working for a start-up that was leading a business transformation project for a large primary sector client. The project team spent the first six months of this project learning what the business was all about from the front lines, not touching any technology during this time. After this time, we then came back to the office and set to working through how technology could make our customers’ business better, blending our first hand observations and knowledge of what the real problems and challenges were, with our technical and business skills. Looking back, we might today call this design thinking, which is a modern method for designing innovative solutions, then, it was simply rolling our sleeves up. This experience and perspective has grounded my career, with technology never being an end in itself, and an enduring sense of anything being possible. What excites me about where technology has got to today, is we have now reached the point where technology can and should be expected to be efficient and dependable. The opportunity is now for organisations to work through how they can improve or innovate through technology, rather than having to focus solely on the cost and stability of technology. Digital transformation is becoming a common term, can you explain what this is and how it applies to our regional businesses? I try not to get too caught up in jargon, however digital to me is the combination of people, process and technology, so digital transformation is how all three come together to make an organisation stronger. The beauty of our internet connected world, is it levels the playing field. Anyone, from anywhere can now access technologies, ideas, and people that previously were only available in the big cities of the world. Importantly we have also entered an era of being able to improve just one thing, rather than having to fix everything at once. However the major challenge to overcome is our own experiences of technology, as this drives our behaviour. For the past fifteen years or so, technology has become for many only a cost and a risk to manage, rather than an opportunity to realise. It is also something which we had to get right first time because it was expensive. With digital, all of these concepts are being challenged. What are your three tips for an organisation who’s wanting to transition to a digital workplace? Be open to different measures of success – over the years, organisation control processes have by necessity driven a focus on cost reduction, many digital initiatives may have benefits that are harder to measure than simply costs reduced. Be open to learnings, and be prepared for ongoing improvements. Find other organisations and partners that have been through change and be open to share your learning. Vo2 Group extends its reach into the regions We’re delighted to announce that Vo2 has extended its regional reach within New Zealand. On 1 August 2016, Vo2 Hawkes Bay and Vo2 Manawatu (previously trading as CodeBlue Hawkes Bay) joined the Vo2 group. The addition of the Hawkes Bay and Manawatu teams, strengthen Vo2’s ability to support organisations across the central and lower north island, operating in a fast-paced global and digital marketplace. The Hawkes Bay and Manawatu companies are well established businesses with a long history in the regions. The team of 25 have a strong concentration of technology resources and are a natural fit for Vo2, allowing us to strengthen our relationships with current customers and partners, expand our services to new clients and secure local talent. With the new companies onboard, Vo2 now has a presence in Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu with offices located in Hamilton, Tauranga, Hastings and Palmerston North. Get in touch: P 07 839 9390 E hello@vo2.nz www.vo2.nz High performance digital thinking Working with organisations across the Waikato & Bay of Plenty to raise their digital performance www.vo2.nz STUART FARQUHAR Vo2 Web Developer New Zealand Olympian – Javelin Thrower
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Waikato Business News August/September 2016

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