Police officer granted leave for personal grievance claim

File photo / NZ Herald

A police officer has been granted leave to pursue his personal grievance claim, three years after leaving the force.

Graham Howse said he was subjected to bullying in the force before he resigned in November 2011.

Employment Relations Authority member Trish MacKinnon found that although a personal grievance must be raised within 90 days, and Mr Howse failed to do so, there was reason to let him pursue the grievance claim.

Mr Howse, who was a member of the police for 15 years, said he felt he had been bullied around his performance implementation plan and had raised it on several occasions before he resigned.

Mr Howse said in evidence to the ERA that the "ongoing and sustained bullying" took a toll on his health and he was prescribed three weeks off work by his doctor.

He told an Inspector that he had felt "fobbed off" in a meeting around his performance implementation plan.

He also said being asked to supply a doctor's certificate every time he was off work on sick leave was unreasonable. This he described as "bully boy" tactics.

Ms MacKinnon said the failure to lay the grievance claim within 90 days was due to his lawyer being unable to represent him because of a conflict of interest.

She said Mr Howse believed the grievance had been laid within the 90 day period in the form of a legal letter, however this was not the case.

A mediation between the Commissioner of Police and Mr Howse would be the first instance of a resolution to the grievance claim, she said.