Newstalk ZB
A former account manager for a recruitment company still becomes emotional thinking about the harassment she endured from a colleague. One year on, Mereana Kennedy has now taken her former employer, Remarkable People Limited (RPL), to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), claiming it failed to provide a safe workplace, resulting in her resignation. She told the authority that late-night calls, emails, texts and unannounced office visits from the colleague had left her fearful and scared. Among the inappropriate emails, he called her a “hot boss”, said she could “win” his “soul”, and that he did not want her to be afraid of him. On one occasion, he attempted to get into Kennedy’s office, which she had locked, demanding that she let him in. ERA member Sarah Kennedy-Martin said in a recent decision that RPL’s actions “fell short” of what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in the circumstances, and awarded Kennedy $20,000 in compensation. “These failures breached the duty of good faith in an employment relationship and the duty to provide a safe workplace.” The late night texts, emails and calls According to the decision, Kennedy worked at the recruitment agency as an account manager. Known as a candidate, the colleague, who was in Kennedy’s caseload, was employed by RPL and given work placements. It was Kennedy’s role to be available to candidates and to communicate with them about their placements with RPL clients. When she began to get inappropriate comments from the candidate in person, by phone, and by text message, she initially thought it was harmless. But he then began contacting her late at night and appearing at her office unannounced. In April 2024, Kennedy met the national key accounts manager, Paddy O’Regan. The Employment Relations Authority ordered RPL to pay $20,00 in compensation. Photo / Stock She told the authority that by that stage, she had stopped responding to the candidate because she could no longer cope with his behaviour. While in the office, Kennedy said she heard another colleague take a call from the candidate. She said she heard him say; “I don’t want to work with that b**** she’s not answering my phone calls”, or words to that effect. O’Regan then told Kennedy, without hearing her explanation, that it was her job to communicate with him. When O’Regan next visited the office, Kennedy told him about her experiences with the candidate. She said O’Regan was alarmed and told her to terminate the candidate’s placements. The candidate later texted Kennedy that evening, calling her a “nark”. But management then concluded it did not have grounds to dismiss the candidate or take disciplinary action, as most of the communication was verbal. Safety measures were later put in place, so Kennedy felt safe at work. Those included having the office door locked when there were no scheduled visits from candidates and having O’Regan manage the candidate in question. Despite the late-night calls stopping, the candidate continued to email and text Kennedy during work hours. He sent her an email with “embarrassed” in the subject field. It said he was sorry for the texts. “I didn’t mean to scare ya, I was just letting you know how much you have the ability to win my soul. I went to a funeral on Monday, I feel dumb because I failed you. “But anyways I’m missing something good which was our friendship. I know it’s not going to be the same but at least once we’ve had a good laugh it will be more fun. I miss the fun of having a hot boss. So will let you get back to work.” The candidate was again told to stop contacting Kennedy. But later that day, he turned up at her office while she was alone. She told the authority that he stood at the locked door and asked her to let him in so he could speak with her. Kennedy responded by saying she could not let him in, which he had already been told, and that she was not working with him. The following day, he sent her another message saying he’d told his girlfrie...
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