Dismissed, made redundant, pushed to resign, dismissed under a 90-day trial or otherwise treated unfairly at work? Start with the issue below, check the time limits, and work from the actual documents and evidence.
![Mereana Kennedy v Remarkable People Limited [2026] NZERA 296 - account manager constructively dismissed after employer failed to properly respond to safety concerns about candidate; $20,000 compensation ordered](/Images/site/EmploymentAdvocatesAucklandCard.jpg)
Mereana Kennedy resigned from Remarkable People after repeated unwanted communications from a candidate created safety concerns and the employer's protective arrangements failed to resolve the problem. She alleged the employer did not properly investigate or respond when the safety plan proved ineffective.
Angus Jowitt worked in a music shop under a disputed contractor-or-employee arrangement and was paid cash below the rate the employer accepted had been agreed. After a conflict over work and coffee, the employer later relied on resignation rather than dismissal.
Everest Corporation told automotive technician Layth Abu-Laban that his employment would end because an alleged one-year contract would not be renewed. His agreement was actually permanent, and the employer later relied on allegations of poor workmanship, customer solicitation, misuse of property and theft.
Kyle Horsefield sold cars for Eurocars under an arrangement labelled casual, but his work had the characteristics of ongoing employment. The employer later ended the relationship by text, raising both employment-status and dismissal-justification issues.
Lyon Kawhaaru was 'instant dismissed' by email from The Deck Tahuna after a customer incident at the Nelson café. The ERA examined what actually occurred, whether the employer fairly investigated it and how Mr Kawhaaru's own conduct should affect remedies.
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.
Daniel Bly was dismissed by FutureCo after Instagram posts and internal Slack messages became the subject of disciplinary allegations. The case tested both the seriousness of the conduct and whether the employer's investigation and dismissal response were proportionate.
Gregory Clarke was made redundant from Omni Health during financial and organisational change. The ERA accepted the commercial rationale and found no suitable redeployment role, but examined whether a series of consultation and process defects caused a separate unjustified disadvantage even though the redundancy itself was genuine.
