Employee chose vacation over workplace solution: Qulliq lawyer

The civil trial involving a former employee of the Qulliq Energy Corp. continues June 12 in Iqaluit. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Stress brought on by overwork and mismanagement drove Sarah Kucera out of a job and out of Nunavut just 13 months after she started work, the former employee alleges in a lawsuit against Qulliq Energy Corp..

But, June 11 in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit, Qulliq lawyer Richard Beamish questioned the basis of those allegations, pointing out the that former executive assistant knew that the corporation was rearranging job responsibilities during her time with the company in 2009-2010, and that Kucera had done little to resolve her troubles at work.

Instead, she chose to take all possible vacation and leave time, he said, while consulting with a lawyer about parting with the company.

Kucera is seeking damages from the corporation for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal, and punitive damages, all amounting to about $444,000, Beamish confirmed with Kucera during the second day of the civil trial.

Kucera’s difficulties at Qulliq began shortly after she started work with them, in July 2009, Kucera told the court in the first day of the trial, June 10.

Qulliq human resources director Catherine Cronin instructed her to “be careful” in communications with Amy Hynes and Calvin Clark, two fellow employees she worked with at Qulliq’s headquarters in Iqaluit, and to hide “certain information” from them, Kucera said.

This made for a stressful situation, she said, and the start of string of repeated troubles with Cronin, who Kucera alleges sent insulting e-mails belittling her during discussions on matters related to salary and on-the-job performance.

These reached their height for Kucera when her six-month performance and salary review were given in February 2010.

Kucera had taken on the added role of corporate assistant when Hynes’ term on the job ended in December. Kucera received a salary increase on taking that additional responsibility.

She told the court she expected a further increase in salary with her February review, as Qulliq’s president Peter Mackey told her she would.

Instead, Kucera found that her position had been downgraded on the pay scale, and that she would receive a raise of just $100. Discussion of salary changes drew disparaging remarks from Cronin in e-mails, Kucera said, which were copied to several employees.

Kucera said she told Mackey of her difficulties with Cronin, and a mediation session was arranged. This did not bring resolution, Kucera said. By summer, Kucera had started the search for a lawyer “to seek advice” about the process of mediation, and assess her options, she said.

In cross-examination, Qulliq’s lawyer Beamish pointed out that Cronin’s office was in Baker Lake, and that direct communication with her was rare, as she only came to Iqaluit “once every couple of months.”

Beamish confirmed with Kucera that she had taken vacation time to Hawaii, accepted by Mackey, in her first six months of work with the company — within her probationary period. Kucera also took time off for her wedding for almost one month, June to July 2010, which included travel in Europe and Canada.

“You come to the corporation to resolve issues. You have too much work to do. You’ve got a honeymoon, so you put off resolving the issues,” Beamish put it to Kucera.

Kucera said she began consulting with a lawyer to consider pursuing Qulliq for harassment, as mediation with Cronin and Mackey had failed.

“You were entitled to 17 days a year, accrued monthly,” Beamish asked Kucera of her vacation time. “Yet you had taken more days than that, for your honeymoon. They were treating you well, were they not?”

“They were not giving me anything special,” Kucera replied.

“And this is while you were consulting with your lawyer, is that not right?” Beamish asked.

“To deal with a stressed work environment,” Kucera said.

The former employee recounted she had developed health problems as a result of stress and overwork, which first surfaced at the end of 2009.

Reports by doctors and wellness counsellors cited in the trial showed these continued up to Kucera’s final month of work with Qulliq, in August 2010, when she received a certificate of illness from Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit.

Qulliq sent her a notice of termination of employment on August 6.

Lawyers will call witnesses to the stand in the third day of the trial, June 12.