Employment Law

The ERA found Hamilton City Council liable for unjustified disadvantage caused by the conduct of Hamilton Zoo's former senior manager towards zookeeper Ashleigh Sanders. The conduct involved intrusive personal contact, out-of-hours messages, requests for information about colleagues, favouritism and career-related pressure, and came close to sexual harassment. Constructive dismissal was not established because the manager had left 14 months before the resignation and causation was not proved. The Council was ordered to pay $18,000 compensation.

In an anonymised retail case, the ERA found that XSH unjustifiably disadvantaged KCY by failing to follow up her bullying complaint, placing her on paid special leave without proper consultation, and directing an immediate store transfer as a fait accompli. Her summary dismissal over expired promotional gifts and a back-office passcode was also unjustified because relevant evidence of common store practice and staff deception was not properly investigated. Compensation totalled $40,000 after contribution reductions, with further lost-remuneration and annual-leave orders.

NPD failed for years to meaningfully address tanker driver Sione Afimeimounga's workload, scheduling and health and safety concerns. After he resigned on extended notice, NPD dismissed him for serious misconduct based on selected messages from a provocative exchange with another driver. The ERA found constructive dismissal, unjustified summary dismissal and unjustified suspension. NPD was ordered to pay $13,608 gross lost wages, $22,500 compensation after 10 percent contribution, and a $4,000 records penalty.

EverEdge Global Limited stopped paying founder and CEO Paul Adams while he continued working from Amsterdam, ignored his repeated requests for payment, and advanced multiple inconsistent explanations later. The ERA found EverEdge deliberately withheld salary to pressure him to resign, amounting to unjustified constructive dismissal. Awards totalled $267,640.69, including salary arrears, six months' lost remuneration, KiwiSaver, $30,000 compensation and a $7,500 good-faith penalty.

VLN brought an employment status and employment standards claim arising from work performed at properties associated with Kim Dotcom and Elizabeth Dotcom. With Mr Dotcom facing possible extradition, VLN sought urgent removal of the entire proceeding from the Employment Relations Authority to the Employment Court before any Authority investigation. The ERA accepted that the possible departure of Mr Dotcom, the unresolved employment status issues, and the potential minimum employment standards claims created sufficient urgency and public interest. The whole matter was removed to the Employment Court. The Authority also made an interim non-publication order protecting VLN's identity.

Although the written agreement called Mr Takaloo an independent contractor, the ERA found that the real nature of his relationship with Kaur Queens Trading Limited was employment. Withholding his final wages, verbal abuse, aggressive conduct and cancelling his access amounted to unjustified constructive dismissal. The company was ordered to pay $2,045 wages, $286.04 holiday pay, $12,038 lost remuneration and $7,500 compensation.

Carol Chesmar had worked for Rooney Earthmoving Limited for more than nine years when her labourer position was disestablished. The ERA accepted that the redundancy was not a sham and that Rooney Earthmoving had genuine work and financial concerns. However, it withheld relevant financial and operational information, failed to consult over the end of Mrs Chesmar's Taiko landfill deployment, had effectively decided by the start of consultation that her role would go, and gave her no meaningful opportunity to influence the outcome. The dismissal was unjustified. Rooney Earthmoving was ordered to pay $14,471.60 gross lost remuneration and $25,000 compensation.

Nirali Bhatt moved from India to New Zealand with her two children to work for Prishal Limited at Juice Heist. The ERA found that Prishal failed to pay her in full despite her raising the issue, did not produce compliant wage and time records, and unjustifiably disadvantaged her. Prishal was ordered to pay wage, holiday and public-holiday arrears, $10,000 compensation, interest, a $1,000 penalty and the filing fee.