DQJ v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2025] NZEmpC 10 - ERA interim reinstatement refusal reversed

DQJ successfully challenged an Employment Relations Authority decision refusing interim reinstatement. The Employment Court held that there was a serious question to be tried and that the balance of convenience and overall justice favoured preserving the employment relationship on an interim basis.

The interim dispute

DQJ had been dismissed by Inland Revenue and sought interim reinstatement while her unjustified-dismissal grievance was investigated. The Authority declined the interim application.

A challenge to an interim reinstatement decision is heard afresh. The Court therefore had to consider whether there was a serious question to be tried, the balance of convenience, and where the overall justice of the case lay.

Why the Court granted interim reinstatement

The Court was satisfied that the dismissal grievance was genuinely arguable. Issues included whether the employer had reached the point where the employment relationship could lawfully be brought to an end and whether the process had been fair.

The Court concluded that the balance favoured keeping DQJ on the payroll while those issues were resolved. The order did not require a final finding that she had been unjustifiably dismissed.

The distinction from the later ERA determination

This distinction matters for citation purposes. [2025] NZEmpC 10 concerns the earlier interim determination, [2024] NZERA 723. The later substantive determination, [2025] NZERA 365, was issued after the Court's interim judgment and is a separate decision.

It would therefore be inaccurate to say that [2025] NZEmpC 10 overturned [2025] NZERA 365.

Why this case matters

The decision illustrates the practical value of interim reinstatement where a dismissal claim is seriously arguable and the prejudice of leaving the employee out of employment pending a final hearing would be difficult to reverse. It also shows why interim judgments should not be presented as final findings on liability.

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Source: Employment Court judgment and related public material.