Julie Curtis v Affordable UK Caravans and Parts Limited [2026] NZERA 46
A detailed, plain-English summary of an Employment Relations Authority (ERA) determination about constructive dismissal and unpaid entitlements. The full determination is embedded at the end of this page.
At a glance
- Citation: [2026] NZERA 46
- Determination date: 28 January 2026
- Venue: Christchurch (investigation meeting 30 October 2025)
- Core issue: The employer told the employee there was no work until mid-January and refused to pay wages for her contracted hours. The employee treated this as repudiation and the Authority found a constructive dismissal.
- Outcome: Unjustified dismissal (personal grievance upheld).
- Key financial orders: $25,000 compensation, $8,320 reimbursement, $1,280 wages, $2,867.20 holiday pay, $227.41 interest, plus penalties split 50/50 between the employee and the Crown.
What happened
The employee was employed to clean caravans. The written employment agreement (signed in November 2022) set normal hours as Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 12:30pm. In practice, she worked four hours per day, five days per week (20 hours per week).
The employee went off work for surgery in October 2024. She and the employer agreed she would take annual leave to cover her recovery period, and she remained on full pay through the week ending 6 November 2024. After that, the employer told her by message that it could not pay wages due to cashflow and suggested she go to WINZ. She then received no pay for several later weeks, despite still receiving payslips.
In late November 2024, the employer messaged saying there was a delay in deliveries and a market slowdown, and asked her to "hold off" returning to work until mid-January 2025. When the employee later advised she had medical clearance to return on 2 December 2024 and asked if she would be paid her contracted hours in the meantime, the employer replied: "No. You get paid when you work."
The employee's representative wrote to the employer on 16 December 2024 alleging repudiation and constructive dismissal, and requesting reasons for dismissal and wage/time and holiday/leave records. The employer did not respond to that letter (or later requests for final pay).
What the Authority had to decide
- Whether the employer could rely on an alleged "flexibility" understanding about hours, or whether the written agreement controlled the hours of work.
- Whether the employer lawfully varied the agreement by telling the employee to stay away from work until mid-January without pay.
- Whether the employer's conduct amounted to a constructive dismissal (repudiation accepted by the employee).
- Whether the dismissal was justifiable under the s 103A test (what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in all the circumstances).
- Remedies: reimbursement and compensation, plus recovery of wages and holiday pay arrears, interest, and penalties for record-keeping and holiday pay breaches.
Key findings in plain English
- The written agreement set 20 hours per week: any pre-contract discussion about flexibility could not override the signed agreement, and the employee in fact worked the contracted pattern throughout employment.
- No valid variation: telling the employee to remain off work until mid-January was not negotiated or documented as required, and was treated as a unilateral move by the employer.
- Repudiation and constructive dismissal: refusing to provide work and refusing to pay contracted wages was a serious breach and repudiatory conduct. The employee accepted that repudiation through her representative's letter. The Authority found this was effectively a "sending away" and therefore a dismissal.
- Unjustified dismissal: the employer's actions and how it acted were not what a fair and reasonable employer could have done at the time, including a lack of consultation and a failure to provide reasons when requested.
- No contribution reduction: allegations about later conflict at the workplace did not contribute to the situation giving rise to the grievance, so remedies were not reduced.
Money: what the employer was ordered to pay
The Authority made the following orders (all payable within 28 days of 28 January 2026, unless otherwise stated):
Personal grievance remedies
- Compensation (hurt and humiliation): $25,000.00
- Reimbursement (lost remuneration): $8,320.00 (gross) (3 months' ordinary time remuneration)
Arrears, interest, and statutory entitlements
- Withheld wages: $1,280.00 (gross)
- Holiday pay arrears: $2,867.20 (gross)
- Interest: $227.41 (calculated on $4,147.20 from 16 December 2024 to the payment date)
Penalties (split between private and public interests)
- Record-keeping breach (Employment Relations Act): $2,500.00 total - $1,250 to the employee and $1,250 to the Crown
- Failure to pay final holiday pay (Holidays Act): $1,500.00 total - $750 to the employee and $750 to the Crown
- Costs: reserved (memorandum timetable set if the parties cannot agree)
Why this case matters
- Cashflow does not excuse non-payment: if an employee is ready and able to work under an existing agreement, an employer cannot simply say "no work, no pay" without properly consulting and following lawful processes (including any restructure/redundancy process if relevant).
- Do not rely on vague "understandings": if the written agreement fixes hours, a claimed pre-contract understanding about flexibility is unlikely to override the signed terms.
- Ignoring correspondence makes things worse: failing to respond to written requests for reasons, records, and final pay can lead to penalties and damages credibility.
- Final pay obligations are strict: holiday pay must be paid when employment ends, and withholding wages/entitlements can lead to arrears and interest.
Read the full ERA determination (embedded)
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Source: Employment Relations Authority determination hosted on determinations.era.govt.nz.
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