KEY POINTS:
A young female apprentice has been awarded $20,000 after her employers mishandled an allegation she made about being sexually assaulted at a work function.
The woman, who was 18 when the incident happened at a 2006 work Christmas party, told her employers the workplace foreman made a sexually explicit proposal to her and grabbed her breast.
When the allegations were put to the foreman he denied them, but said the apprentice had acted in a sexually provocative manner in the workplace.
An Employment Relations Authority (ERA) decision released today said one of the bosses had observed the apprentice's workplace behaviour after meetings about the alleged incident and concluded the apprentice was indeed sexually provocative.
A staff meeting was held and everyone was told that sexual harassment was unacceptable behaviour, as was provocative sexual conduct and false sexual harassment claims.
They were also told a dress code was to be implemented and proposed using mediation to resolve the issue between the apprentice and foreman.
The mediation never eventuated and the relationship between the apprentice and her employers turned sour, with the young woman ending up taking time off work for stress with a medical note saying she need at least a month.
The employers wrote her a final warning letter citing "unauthorised leave, stress, false accusations, etc" and said a doctor had given them a suggestion that the apprentice may have a borderline personality disorder.
Representing the apprentice, Damien Chesterman wrote to the employers raising personal grievance issues including sexual harassment, public humiliation and constructive dismissal.
Allegations against the apprentice continued but were eventually withdrawn.
After investigating the Christmas party allegations, the ERA said it was satisfied the sexual harassment claims were genuine.
The employers went as far as providing the ERA with surveillance film of the apprentice at work, but the ERA said it didn't see anything provocative in the behaviour recorded.
Mr Chesterman said the apprentice's confidence had been crushed and she had not been able to find fulltime employment.
The apprentice said she had mentally hit rock bottom in the wake of the whole affair.
She said she cried for two weeks after leaving the job and suffered from skin irritations brought on by stress.
She had also gained weight through a lack of motivation and break-up with her boyfriend.
The ERA said the employers had failed to take steps to ensure a safe workplace free from sexual harassment and ruled the apprentice was unjustifiably constructively dismissed.
It found against the employers, including an award of $5040 for lost wages and another $15,000 for stress, humiliation and a loss of dignity.
- NZPA
