Traffica summarily dismissed foreman Selwyn McDonald on site after a heated exchange with a director. The ERA accepted that Mr McDonald made serious disrespectful comments with racial connotations, but he was given no chance to answer before being fired.
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Results for performance management
Brandt Tractor removed sales manager Nicholas Pilcher from the workplace on 'special leave', took his phone and laptop and then dismissed him five days later over four bullying and harassment complaints. He was not given the underlying complaints, even in redacted form, or a genuine chance to answer them.
Emily Grinsted, Bunnings' New Zealand People and Culture Manager, brought five unjustified-disadvantage claims while remaining employed. The complaints concerned how criticisms were raised, information and duties, contractual obligations and a short-term incentive bonus.
Hai Zheng's employment dispute with JCD concerned whether he had resigned or whether employer breaches caused his departure, together with associated disadvantage and contractual claims. The ERA examined whether the employer's conduct made resignation a reasonably foreseeable consequence.
FVG, a structural engineer, challenged her suspension, the handling of bullying and performance concerns, and her eventual dismissal by YJN. The case required the ERA to separate several disadvantage allegations from the fairness of the final dismissal process.
Workplace Bullying
TopicWorkplace bullying is repeated and unreasonable behaviour that can cause physical or psychological harm. Employees can document the conduct, use internal complaint processes and challenge an inadequate or retaliatory employer response where the legal tests are met.
Employer employment law help for Personal Grievance responses, disciplinary process, redundancy, MBIE mediation, ERA claims, settlement strategy and Employment Court risk.
A critique of the Employers and Manufacturers Association case for new regulation of employment advocates, focusing on whether the publicly identified evidence demonstrates widespread advocate-specific consumer harm.
