Questions:
I. Janet has been in continuous employment with UNITEC Ltd. for 15 years. Last Monday she was called to the Manager's Office and verbally informed that she was given 14 days notice for the termination of her contract of employment with UNITEC.
II. Janet asked the Manager to explain why her contract of employment was terminated. The Manager replied that it was for Janet to know what she had done / not done and as he was the boss he could "hire / or fire" people as and when he wanted.
(i) Advise Janet,
(a) As to 14 days verbal notice of termination of her contract of employment with UNITEC.
(b) As to any course(s) of action she may have against UNITEC Ltd, how she should proceed and to which Court she must take her grievance.
(c) As to any form of compensation(s) she may be entitled to, should unfair dismissal be successfully established against UNITEC Ltd.
(ii) Can the action of the Manager in the said circumstances be justified if he had merely told Janet that she was dismissed for alleged misconduct? If not, why not?
(iii) In fact Janet strongly doubts that she was dismissed from work because she was an executive member of Tec Workers Union (TWU), which has threatened general strike if safety measures at work are not improved.
Under such circumstances does Janet still have a legal course of action against UNITEC Ltd?