bossed

12/10/2021

NEWS ARTICLE
Failing to set targets for a bonus that the employee was never paid resulted in the employer being ordered to pay compensation by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).

The employment agreement referred to an annual “gross salary $90000/- plus $30000 gross on achieving targets set by Management”. The $30,000 bonus was never paid to the employee.

The Authority decided that because no targets were set by management, the employee could not be assessed as having achieved them. On that basis the Authority decided no bonus payment was owing to the employee. However, the Authority found that the employer’s failure to clearly identify in the employment agreement the basis on which the bonus would be calculated amounted to an unjustified disadvantage. The Authority ordered the employer to pay the employee $15,000 in compensation for hurt and humiliation.

Despite the contrasting approach of the Authority this determination demonstrates that an employer’s failure to properly describe what is required to be eligible for an employee to receive a bonus stipulated in the employment agreement can lead to liability.

Please contact us for a copy of this case if you wish to read it in full.

01/10/2021

NEWS ARTICLE
The Employment Relations Authority ordered an employer to pay $14,000 in compensation to an employee where the employer had effectively dismissed the employee by way of trespass.

Two days after providing the employee a letter inviting the employee to a disciplinary meeting to discuss performance concerns the employer trespassed the employee from the workplace. The employee was unable to attend the disciplinary meeting due the trespass notice.

The Authority found the trespass notice was a sending away amounting to a dismissal. The dismissal was unjustified both on a procedural and substantive basis.

To read this case in full, click:https://www.employment.govt.nz/assets/elawpdf/2021/2021_NZERA_150.pdf

29/09/2021

NEWS ARTICLE
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has recently issued an important determination in GF v New Zealand Customs Service [2021] NZERA 382. This is the first decision related to dismissing an employee who refuses to be vaccinated in connection with the mandatory vaccination requirements of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 (Vaccination Order).

The Authority found that Customs was justified in dismissing GF, a border protection officer working at a maritime port facility, who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

To read this case in full, click:https://www.employment.govt.nz/assets/elawpdf/2021/2021-NZERA-382.pdf

19/08/2021

Health Minister Hon Andrew Little announced on Tuesday 17th Aug, that the Government is ready to negotiate the nurses’ pay equity claim first put in motion in 2018. This milestone is the 5th in a series of milestones which have been reached to date, these being: confirmation that there is sex-based undervaluation of nurses; the identification of comparators (jobs or occupations with comparable skills and responsibilities); evaluation of those skills, responsibilities and work conditions; and quantifying the equity gap.

To get the negotiations under way, Cabinet approved both the mandate under which the DHBs will negotiate and the funding to meet the cost of the resulting agreement.

Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/government-ready-negotiate-pay-equity-nurses, 17 August 2021.

18/08/2021

We want to reassure you that we are open and working to support employees and employers, as always, and especially through this uncertain time.

bossed was born remotely, and we’ve had employees working from home for the last 8 years. Our dedicated team is therefore all set up and ready to help. You can reach us by a variety of ways
- Email [email protected]
- Call our friendly support team on 0800 BOSSED (267 733) during business hours
- Visit our website http://www.bossed.co.nz to fill in a contact form OR talk with us online
- Send us a Private Message via our page

We are one of you, we are a small business, and we are here to serve our community in a time of need.

Our experienced team of remote workers have put together some helpful resources to assist you with working from home and supporting your team to do so also, you can access these by visiting our website https://www.bossed.co.nz/covid-19-employment-support

Kia Kaha Aotearoa

14/08/2021

12/08/2021

We provide nationwide employment law support to employers in respect of any employment relations and human resource issues, including but not limited to:​​
- Resolving Personal Grievances
- Mediation – in-house or through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
- Employment Relations Authority (ERA) matters
- Employment Court matters
- Dealing with employee misconduct
- Performance management and improvement
- Investigations, disciplinary meetings, and dismissal procedures
- Negotiated/managed exits
- Organisational change including planning and managing re-structures and redundancies
- Creating fit-for-purpose ‘Employment Agreements’ and ‘Contract for Services’ documents

Visit https://www.bossed.co.nz/employer for more information and advice on how we can assist - we'd love to hear from you!

11/08/2021

A disciplinary meeting is a formal meeting between an employer and employee that forms part of an investigation into employee conduct. Both sides are entitled to representation and will have the opportunity to discuss the issue being investigated before a decision is made by the employer about what, if any, disciplinary action will be taken.

Visit our page https://www.bossed.co.nz/employee-disciplinary-meetings to read more on the disciplinary process, your rights and responsibilities and how we can help you by providing free and confidential advice.

07/08/2021

“Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy.”
- Paulo Coelho

06/08/2021

NEWS ARTICLE:

The employee was a concrete finisher. The employee got into an argument with a manager. The manager claimed he suspected the employee was on drugs because during the argument the employee quickly became agitated and started sweating.

Where the Employer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the Employee is under the influence of illegal drugs while at work, the Employer may require the Employee to undergo a non-intrusive drug test (a urine test) which will be conducted by a registered medical professional.

The employer at the time also had a “Just Cause” drug testing policy - where behaviour is observed that causes concern that an individual could be a potential or actual safety hazard to himself or others due to the effects or after effects of drugs and/or alcohol the manager will be informed and the individual then interviewed to determine whether testing is required.

The manager asked the employee if he would take a drug test. The manager said he would take the employee for a test nearby. The manager claimed the employee replied straight away that there was no point because he would fail. The manager assumed that meant the employee was under the influence of drugs. The manager then sent the employee away. The manager said he was suspending the employee until he returned a clean drug test. The employee believed he had been dismissed. When the employee did not return to work the employer considered he had abandoned his employment.

The Court found that the manner in which the employer required the employee to have a drug test was not justified. In coming to that conclusion, the Court took into account that:
- The employer breached the employment agreement by requiring the employee to have a drug test when there were no reasonable grounds for a test. The employee had worked in the morning prior to the argument without evidence of behaviour consistent with an immediate inability to perform work.
- The employer breached the “Just Cause” drug-testing policy by not conducting an interview with the employee before requiring him to take a drug test.
- The employer also breached good faith by discussing the requirement for a drug test during the argument with the employee. The Court found a reasonable employer in the circumstances would have had a discussion on drug testing after allowing time for cooling down, rather than in the middle of an altercation.

The Court held that a reasonable employer in the circumstances would not have sent the employee away to have a drug test as a knee-jerk response to an argument without adequately investigating the need for a test. The Court found the employer also unjustifiably dismissed the employee, when it assumed he had abandoned his employment without seeking further clarification from the employee. The Court awarded the employee:
- $12,000 compensation reduced by 10 per cent for contribution to $10,800
- Four months lost wages, also reduced by 10 per cent for contribution.

https://www.employmentcourt.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Decisions/2021-NZEmpC-95-Concrete-Structures-NZ-Ltd-v-Rottier-jud-300621.pdf