Increasingly employers are being required to consider whether a concern or complaint needs to be investigated prior to a formal disciplinary process being implemented. Generally, this will require a gathering and assessment of the facts prior to a decision on potential disciplinary action being made. To seek to move to a disciplinary process without undertaking …
With Christmas fast approaching employers are already beginning to face the dilemma as to whether some employees are entitled to payment for not working on the public holidays or not. While it is reasonably easy to assess entitlements to payment for employees that work a regular Monday to Friday work week, it is less clear …
Is the Public Holiday and “otherwise Working Day” the same for the Employee Read More »
It is not an uncommon situation that an employee terminates their employment and does not return all company property or repay any outstanding debts. Where the employee has wages or annual leave entitlements owing to them, subject to the deduction provisions of section 5 of the Wage Protection Act 1983, some amount of recovery may …
Based on information obtained from the Companies Office, Union Organizations represent 14.30% of the total New Zealand workforce. The unions exist to provide employment relations support to their members and to lobby for worker rights and entitlements at a national level. To fulfil these functions, the Union will employ individuals into the role of a …
Union fails to follow due process in dismissing one of its Organizers Read More »
Almost all lists of actions that may constitute potential serious misconduct contained the statement “Failure to follow fair and reasonable lawful instructions” – however it often becomes subjective as to what this actually means. For one employer an employees continued use of inappropriate language in the workplace after having been spoken to may constitute a …
For many employers it has always been accepted that, if an employee resigns or is terminated from their employment, the date on which the notice was given becomes the first day of the contractual notice period. A recent decision from the Employment Relations Authority may make you rethink this. Ms Sheridan was employed by Pact …
Under Section 114 of the Employment Relations Act 2000, an employee has a statutory right to raise a personal grievance against their employer if they believe that they have been subjected to unjustified action with the Act stating that this must be notified to the employer “within the period of 90 days beginning with the …
When is it “out of time” to raise a Personal Grievance? Read More »
Russell Drake wins another case in the ERA… Recently we had another win in the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) on behalf of a client – see this determination here. The primary claim by the employee focused on whether the 90 Day Trial that he was employed under was legal or not, and therefore whether his …
Have you ever faced the dilemma as to whether an employee is raising a complaint or raising a personal grievance? There may be a fine line between the two, however the implications of determining what the employees’ intentions are can result in significantly different outcomes. The Employment Relations Act 2000, specifically s114, outlines that an …
Is a complaint the same as raising a personal grievance? Read More »
Many Employers have a Restraint of Trade provision within their Employment Agreements, with the view that this clause has some power to restriction an Employee if they were to leave the company. However, the key issue that we regularly come across is that for the majority, these provisions are written as a standard ‘blanket’ clause, …
IS THERE ANY VALUE IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE CLAUSES? Read More »
