Awards of compensation for hurt and humiliation have tended to be low in the past. That is particularly so in relation to claims for unjustified disadvantage. But in the right case, even compensation for a disadvantage claim can be significant – as a recent judgment from the Employment Court has
Personal grievances come in more than one flavour. The most common one you hear about is the personal grievance for unfair dismissal. But did you know there are nine other types of personal grievance under New Zealand law? WHAT IS A PERSONAL GRIEVANCE ANYWAY? Before listing off the different types,
Do you know someone affected by bullying in the workplace? Chances are that you do, as allegations of bullying appear to be on the rise. And there are probably plenty more cases that are never raised for fear of reprisal attacks. Yet, bullying is a tricky thing to define. You can’t
Did you know that you can win your personal grievance claim but still lose? This happens when you convince the Employment Relations Authority that you were unfairly dismissed, but for one reason or another, you come out worse off financially than when you began. Imagine spending $230k in legal fees
It is possible to be employed by more than one person at the same time for the same work. This situation can arise in situations where you are initially employed by one company to work for another closely related company. It might also arise if you are contracted to work
You may have heard the term “constructive dismissal” and wondered what it meant. I accept the terminology is a little unusual. It sounds like something that happens to a builder when he is laid off. Or perhaps, like the term “constructive criticism”, it refers to a dismissal was helpful in
Employers generally have no interest in treating their employees unfairly. It just isn’t good for business. As an employer, you likely know that if your staff are upset, they will be less productive. You also know that dealing with personal grievances consumes management time that could be better spent elsewhere.
If you raise a personal grievance against your employer, you can ask the Employment Relations Authority to decide whether you have a claim and whether your employer should pay you anything for it. If a Member of the Authority considers that you have a valid personal grievance, they can order
Under the Employment Relations Act 2000 employees must raise a personal grievance with their employer within 90 days of the events giving rise to the grievance or coming to the employee’s attention. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RAISE A PERSONAL GRIEVANCE IN NEW ZEALAND? There is no special formula or magic words that employees
