$405,000 to resolve Super City staff gripes

Council people and capability director Alan Brookbanks said the number of personal grievances involved 0.3 per cent of Auckland Council's workforce. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland Council paid out $405,000 settling and defending personal grievances in the past year.

Staff lodged 35 claims against the Super City council during the 12 months to July last year, which cost ratepayers $373,577 in payouts. An extra $32,019 in legal fees was spent defending the cases which included 24 complaints of unjustified disadvantage and seven of unjustified dismissal.

There was also one complaint about constructive dismissal, a dispute about employment status, a claim for a meal allowance that was dismissed by the Employment Relations Authority and a complaint about a redundancy calculation. Thirteen of the cases were resolved without payments, and three of the complainants still work at the council.

The council could not say whether the figure was higher or lower than previous years but it was similar to 23 severance payments made the previous year at a cost of $406,992.

The figures were released to the Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act.

Council people and capability director Alan Brookbanks said the number of personal grievances involved 0.3 per cent of Auckland Council's workforce at a cost of just over 0.08 per cent of the annual $700 million wage bill.

Mr Brookbanks said given the size of the workforce and the complexity of operations, there was always a probability that employee disputes would occur.

"We are committed to further building on the positive working environment we have at Auckland Council and have consistently increased our annual engagement survey results year on year," Mr Brookbanks said.

Employment law specialist Susan Hornsey-Geluk said 35 personal grievances was a large amount, even considering the council's 7062 staff.

She said 24 complaints of unjustified disadvantage indicated the council was not following its own policies and procedures correctly. Unjustified disadvantage often arose after a disciplinary process that led to a warning or dismissal but the complainant believed the process was not fair, she said.

"What's interesting is that of the 35 grievances only 13 did not result in a payout so two thirds ... appear to have resulted in some form of payout by the council."

Auckland Council's 10-year budget will be released for public consultation on Friday.

Personal grievances
Auckland Council spent $405,000 in the past year settling and defending 35 personal grievance cases lodged by council staff.

The figure included $373,577 in settlement costs and $32,019 in legal fees.

The cases included 24 complaints of unjustified disadvantage, seven of unjustified dismissal, one of constructive dismissal, an employment status dispute, a dismissed meal allowance claim and a redundancy calculation complaint.

Personal grievances

• Auckland Council spent $405,000 in the past year settling and defending 35 personal grievance cases lodged by council staff.

• The figure included $373,577 in settlement costs and $32,019 in legal fees.

• The cases included 24 complaints of unjustified disadvantage, seven of unjustified dismissal, one of constructive dismissal, an employment status dispute, a dismissed meal allowance claim and a redundancy calculation complaint.

• Thirteen of the cases were resolved without payments, and three of the complainants still work at the council.