A Gisborne Boys' High School (GBHS) teacher who raised personal grievance claims of unjustified disadvantage has been awarded $10,000 in compensation.
Christine Swann took her case to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) against the school's board of trustees after working at the school for more than 17 years.
She worked most recently on the senior leadership team as an assistant principal.
In 2021, the school proposed a restructuring which saw her lose two permanent management units in 2022 - reducing her salary.
Swann was also demoted and instead of reporting directly to the principal was required to report to a deputy.
She said she was not properly consulted with and could not understand why her position needed to change in this way, according to the ERA decision.
Swann was seeking reinstatement, restoration of the two permanent management units and associated backpay, as well as a declaration the school acted in breach of its good faith duties towards her.
However, the school resisted the claims and said it was within its rights to restructure the senior leadership team in the way that it did.
Swann said she had endured and continued to feel a loss of mana caused by the actions.
In November 2021, Swann received a proposal document from the school which outlined the restructuring.
The aim of the restructuring was to fix a shortfall of $25,000 per year being taken from the operational funding by removing five management units from the members of the senior leadership team.
After an informal meeting with the Principal, Swann provided 10 pages of written feedback, the ERA said.
She said she did her best to engage with the proposal, even though she felt hampered by not being able to discuss the proposal and her understanding of it, with anyone.
In early December 2021, Swann again received a letter from the school which advised her that they had decided to proceed with the proposal as originally notified to her.
"She says she was unable to explain why exactly her role was reassigned to report to the deputy principal, rather than to the principal directly, which she says is a demotion," ERA member Claire English said. "She says that this has led to ongoing feelings of embarrassment and loss of mana and dignity, which she has experienced at GBHS and in the community. Ms Swann points out that this is especially acute for her because she is the only wahine on the SLT.
"Not to put too fine a point on it, Ms Swann is the only member of the SLT who is non-Pakeha.”
Swann said she then had to think carefully about whether she could continue to work at the school and, in the end, decided to stay as she felt she had a duty to her son, the school and the community.
On behalf of the school, deputy principal Peter Ray said he didn't agree she had been demoted, according to the ERA decision.
However, English said everyone in the senior leadership team benefited from the restructure, except Swann. There was no evidence why the other assistant principal should have been promoted and not her.
English said Swann's claims of unjustified disadvantage were justified and the $10,000 she sought was modest, in the circumstances.
"I record that I would have awarded remedies in excess of this sum had such been claimed," English said.
She said the school had breached its duties of good faith. But she said she was not persuaded that reinstation could occur because the former position no longer existed.
English also ruled against restoration of the management units and backpay.
