New Zealand unfair dismissal (unjustified dismissal) case summaries from the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), explaining key facts, outcomes, and lessons for employees and employers.
These unfair dismissal (unjustified dismissal) case summaries cover Employment Relations Authority (ERA) decisions from across New Zealand. Each case highlights the facts, the Authority's reasoning, and the outcome, so you can see what tends to help or hurt a dismissal justification.
If you are dealing with a dismissal dispute, these examples can help you understand common errors in process, the standard of reasonableness applied, and typical remedies where a dismissal is found to be unjustified.
![Lyon Kawhaaru v The Deck Tahuna Limited [2026] NZERA 288 - cafe worker told by email he was 'instant dismissed' after customer incident; unjustified dismissal upheld; remedies reduced 25% for contribution](/Images/site/EmploymentAdvocatesAucklandCard.jpg)
After a customer incident captured on CCTV, the employer emailed that the matter was serious misconduct and 'will result in instant dismissal effective from 4 June'. The ERA held that was an unequivocal sending away: the worker was dismissed without any fair process and did not abandon...
A sales manager was put on 'special leave' while four bullying/harassment complaints were being investigated, but his phone and laptop were taken and he was removed from the workplace without prior consultation. Five days later he was dismissed for serious misconduct without being given the...
A lead developer on a high-pressure KFC app project posted about exhaustion on Instagram and sent blunt messages to a junior developer. FutureCo treated this as serious misconduct and dismissed him. The ERA held the dismissal unjustified, found excessive hours were an unjustified disadvantage,...
A general manager resigned after months of dispute about a short term incentive (STI) clause. He believed he was entitled to 25% of salary, paid quarterly, and that KPIs had to be issued by 1 April. The ERA rejected the constructive dismissal claim because the STI was discretionary and annual,...
A full-time barber resigned after receiving two formal warnings issued without any investigation or opportunity to respond, and after a manager texted him 'DONT COME TO WORK ANYMORE IN the Authority's SHOP'. The ERA held the warnings were procedurally and substantively unjustified and the employer's conduct...
The Authority made monetary and/or other orders. A structural engineer referred to by the randomly chosen letters FVG, was employed from early 2022 by a company YJN, also identified by such chosen letters. That company had recently... Key amounts include other payments of $7,000, $27,000.
The Authority made monetary and/or other orders. Bunnings Limited (Bunnings) is a large Australasian retailer of home improvement and outdoor living products. Emily Grinsted is Bunning's People and Culture Manager for the New Zealand,... Key amounts include other payments of $11,820, $11,820.00.
An administrator was told by an external HR consultant that her employment would be ended under a 90 day trial, then given the option to resign instead. The ERA held she resigned, but the resignation was a constructive dismissal because it was a choice between resignation and dismissal.
