Construction firm failed to provide safe working environment, according to ERA
An employee who was told wear "more sexy outfits" has won thousands of dollars in compensation after she took her case to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
Seulbi Gang was hired as an assistant to the sales manager and office manager for Auckland-based construction firm KNCC Limited in October 2020.
The month after she was hired, however, Gang said one of her supervisors, technical director Jae Jeong Jang, told her while they were alone in a lift that she would be "more sexually appealing if she wore more sexy outfits."
"She could then be in the KNCC showroom attracting customers and being: 'a honeytrap,'" the ERA heard in its investigation.
Gang also claimed that Jang would stand very close to her or bang her chair deliberately when she was seated at her desk. She was also told that she looked like she had a "cold body and would be unable to have children."
In another incident in a lift, Gang alleged that Jang asked her if she were not afraid that he would rape her.
Jang denied the allegations, claiming he had poor eyesight and had to stand close to her to see her computer screen. He also denied the lift-related claims Gang made against him.
Two resignations
Gang said she raised her concerns with other employees in 2021 and was told to be more careful around Jang because he had a "reputation" for such actions.
KNCC also took no steps to address her concerns, the former employee alleged, who filed her resignation in April 2021. She cited "personal reasons" in the company's resignation template form, saying that it was a taboo in Korean culture for employees to raise grievances with their employer.
"Having already raised issues verbally which were not addressed, she did not want to raise the issues again in a resignation letter which might adversely affect the chances of her getting another job with a Korean company," the ERA heard.
The matter eventually reached KNCC sole director Jaeho Huh, who told her to "forgive him and give him some latitude."
Alleging a lack of response from KNCC, Gang eventually wrote a six-page report raising her harassment and bullying experiences in the company while asking its board to address the issues.
Huh, however, told her that she should not feel resentment to the company, adding that Jang likely acted that way because he liked her.
Gang also said she was told to do more procurement work, which meant working further with Jang.
By May 2021, Gang filed her second resignation, which was accepted immediately without formal discussions or exit interview.
The former employee then raised the matter to the ERA, claiming that she was unjustifiably disadvantaged and constructively dismissed.
Gang wins
ERA member Eleanor Robinson sided with Gang on the case.
"I have found that Ms Gang was unjustifiably dismissed and unjustifiably disadvantaged in her employment with KNCC and she is entitled to remedies," Robinson said in her decision.
According to the ruling, KNCC failed to provide Gang with a healthy and safe working environment. It also failed to act as a fair and reasonable employer, making Gang's resignation a "foreseeable consequence."
Huh also "aided and abetted" KNCC's breach of duty to provide Gang a safe working environment.
Jang, however, did not aid and abet the contractual breach as he was not informed about Gang's concerns on his behaviour until after she resigned.
KNCC is then ordered to pay Gang $28,000 for humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to feelings, as well as additional $15,153 for lost wages.
As penalty for providing Gang with a healthy and safe workplace, KNCC is also ordered to pay $14,000. Another $2,000 was also ordered as penalty for KNCC for failing to provide compliant wages and time records.
Another $4,000 penalty is in order for Huh for failing to provide a safe working environment.
