Search Employment Law

Philip Powell was made redundant from OH and N Contracting as forestry work reduced and no replacement contract had been secured. The ERA accepted there was a genuine business reason to reduce staff but examined whether the employer had consulted, disclosed information, considered alternatives and paid notice correctly.

FEC was a beginning school principal whose relationship with the board deteriorated after a parent-related incident. Among the challenged conduct were after-hours visits by the presiding member to FEC's home to deal with school employment matters, followed eventually by FEC's resignation.

Chef OAS told JIK Limited he needed time away from work after family violence affecting his children, including meetings with victim support and steps toward a protection order. The employer treated his messages as resignation or abandonment and omitted him from the next roster.

Duane April, a migrant worker, alleged Coatrite Fire underpaid his agreed hourly rate, made unlawful deductions, subjected him to racialised comments and later dismissed him after a defective disciplinary process. The decision maker did not attend the disciplinary meeting and important allegations were not fairly tested.

Qi Sun was an apprentice builder with Keene Construction when he queried an unpaid $300 apprenticeship-cost payment. The director then texted that there would not be a company and told him not to bother coming to work, creating a dispute about whether those messages amounted to dismissal.

Farm assistant Blue Hunt's employment ended after a cowshed dispute with Lance Wakelin. The case required the ERA to determine who the employer was, whether Mr Hunt had been dismissed and whether any fair process or substantive reason justified the termination.

Sukhmanpreet Singh's dispute with JIT arose after he was pressed to submit an annual-leave request and a confrontation followed. JIT then cancelled his shifts on claimed mental-stress grounds and later dismissed him for serious misconduct, while the ERA examined the conduct of both sides.

Electrician Brent Colyer was investigated and given a written warning by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters after a gantry-crane incident involving another employee. He later resigned, alleging both unjustified disadvantage from the disciplinary process and constructive dismissal.