In May 2002, the Christchurch Coroner released his findings on the death of long-serving ANZ bank employee, Mr Michael Smith. He said that stress at work was the 'principal precipitator' of a serious depressive illness that led to Mr Smith's suicide in March 2000.

Mr Smith had worked for the Bank for 20 years when he assumed a sales management role at the Riccarton ANZ branch in late 1998. He was given performance targets he was expected to meet. Shortly after he took up the new position, Mr Smith's manager became aware that he was suffering from depression. The Bank encouraged him to take periods of additional paid sick leave, which it made clear it was prepared to extend until his health had improved.

In early 1999, Mr Smith's health appeared to improve but he still suffered from 'shaky periods'. Performance reviews that year showed that he was not meeting his financial targets. The Bank criticised him for failing to follow up agreed action plans to generate new business. At the end of 1999 he was told that his performance was falling below expectations and this would be addressed in the New Year.

Mr Smith met with management in early February 2000 about his performance. As a result, the Bank began an informal performance management process. He was notified of his performance targets and told that he could be dismissed if he continued to fall short of them. Mr Smith's union tried to persuade the Bank to lower the targets to reflect time off for illness, but the Bank refused to do this.

A fortnight later, Mr Smith handed in his resignation, but it was clear to the Bank that he was not sure that he really wanted to resign. At the Bank's suggestion, he met with the Bank's career counsellor and took more paid sick leave. He remained on sick leave until his death just over a month later.

The Coroner found that Mr Smith's work stress was the major factor in his illness, which resulted in his death, but said it did not follow that the Bank was responsible for the death. He noted the Bank's limited knowledge of Mr Smith's medical background, which indicated a two-year history of depression. The Coroner found that the Bank had appropriately and readily given Mr Smith sick leave, and had sophisticated employment processes to comply with its obligations as an employer under the health and safety legislation.

However, the Coroner was critical of the Bank in some respects. In particular, he thought it was unreasonable that Mr Smith's targets had remained unaffected by his periods of sick leave and that his performance statistics were published to his colleagues.

Further, the Coroner thought the Bank could have placed more emphasis on the possibility of Mr Smith taking medical retirement, rather than being subjected to 'the more traumatic route' of performance management with the possible consequence of dismissal.

The Coroner made the following recommendations: