Search New Zealand employment-law guides, ERA determinations, Employment Court decisions and topics.
Results for unfair dismissal
Industry news, practical commentary, and real-world employment law lessons from the coalface in New Zealand. Short updates, longer opinion pieces, and anonymised stories that highlight what goes wrong (and how to avoid it).
![Jingkai Wang v Envoco Limited [2025] NZERA 845 - resignation, covert recordings and limited unjustified disadvantage](/Images/site/EmploymentAdvocatesAucklandCard.jpg)
Jingkai Wang claimed Envoco had dismissed him and subjected him to bullying and an unsafe workplace, while the employer said he resigned. The evidence also included covert recordings and a trial clause signed only after work had begun.
Employer employment law help for Personal Grievance responses, disciplinary process, redundancy, MBIE mediation, ERA claims, settlement strategy and Employment Court risk.
Redundancy is defined at common law as a situation where an employee's position becomes surplus to the needs of the employer. A redundancy is treated by the Courts as a dismissal, therefore it must be genuine and carried out in a procedurally fair way.
Recurring factual and procedural mistakes seen in ERA disputes, including poor records, unclear allegations, rushed dismissals, weak redundancy consultation and failures to prove loss or mitigation.
Deborah Coley's agreement guaranteed at least 32 hours each week, but Bupa sought to vary that guarantee by averaging hours across a six-week roster and presented redundancy as the alternative if she refused. A later disciplinary investigation and written warning added a second strand to the disadvantage claim.
What an employer should do after receiving a personal grievance: do not concede or retaliate, preserve records, identify the legal claims and deadlines, and assess whether mediation or a defended response is appropriate.
Employer guide to disciplinary investigations: framing allegations, preserving evidence, interviewing witnesses, disclosure, representation and keeping the investigation separate from the final disciplinary decision.
