We represent employers and employees in employment disputes in New Zealand. All employees have rights under the Employment Relations Act 2000. This blog discusses common and relevant issues in New Zealand employment law.
![Kyle Horsefield v Eurocars Limited [2026] NZERA 293 - car salesperson labelled casual was a permanent employee; dismissal by text message unjustified; $12,345 ordered](/Images/site/EmploymentAdvocatesAucklandCard.jpg)
Eurocars labelled a new car salesperson as casual and then texted him that his casual employment was terminated because he was busy with a lawyer and physio. The ERA found the real relationship was permanent on an as-required basis, the text was a summary dismissal, and the employer had no fair process or substantive justification...
Everest Corporation Limited told an automotive technician his employment was ending because it would not renew what it said was a one-year contract. The ERA found the agreement was permanent, the dismissal process was non-existent, and the employer's later allegations of poor workmanship, customer solicitation, misuse of property and theft were not substantiated...
After a customer incident captured on CCTV, the employer emailed that the matter was serious misconduct and 'will result in instant dismissal effective from 4 June'. The ERA held that was an unequivocal sending away: the worker was dismissed without any fair process and did not abandon...
A sales manager was put on 'special leave' while four bullying/harassment complaints were being investigated, but his phone and laptop were taken and he was removed from the workplace without prior consultation. Five days later he was dismissed for serious misconduct without being given the...
A lead developer on a high-pressure KFC app project posted about exhaustion on Instagram and sent blunt messages to a junior developer. FutureCo treated this as serious misconduct and dismissed him. The ERA held the dismissal unjustified, found excessive hours were an unjustified disadvantage,...
Omni Health disestablished its chief operating officer role in a cost-cutting restructure after cashflow pressure and declining profitability. The ERA accepted the redundancy was genuine and redeployment was not realistic, so the dismissal was substantively justified. However, multiple process...
A general manager resigned after months of dispute about a short term incentive (STI) clause. He believed he was entitled to 25% of salary, paid quarterly, and that KPIs had to be issued by 1 April. The ERA rejected the constructive dismissal claim because the STI was discretionary and annual,...
A full-time barber resigned after receiving two formal warnings issued without any investigation or opportunity to respond, and after a manager texted him 'DONT COME TO WORK ANYMORE IN the Authority's SHOP'. The ERA held the warnings were procedurally and substantively unjustified and the employer's conduct...
