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There was an interesting article in the Wanganui Chronicle yesterday. Not only does the article note that the majority of cases at the Employment Relations Authority are won by the employee, but a quote from the Employers and Manufacturers Association is noteworthy: 

"We certainly know from the statistics that when it comes to performance-related matters, employers get that wrong 85 per cent of the time."

The EMA statistics confirm our own findings. What does this mean for you, as an employee? It means that if you think you have been unfairly treated the statistics prove that you probably have a very good case and nothing to lose by talking to us about taking it further.

Employment relations problems happen in all types of work and at every level. Even big companies that should know better are often involved with personal grievances. We have found that certain types of employers are over represented in personal grievance claims. They include charities, doctors, and farmers.

We have talked about charities before and we’ll talk about doctors at some stage. For now we want to talk about employees in the farming industry. We frequently come across cases so bad that we can only describe it as employee abuse. Examples include farm workers not being provided with employment agreements, being dismissed on the spot for no reason, having part of their wages withheld illegally, being kicked out of their farm house with no warning, serious bullying and harassment, and being physically and verbally abused by the owner or managers. All of these things could happen to any employee; however, they seem to occur much more frequently with farm employees. The way that many farm employees are dismissed on a whim and with no warning shows that some farmers have no idea of even the most basic employment procedures – or they just don’t care.

If you are a farm employee, you don’t have to put up with this. If you are dismissed or your working conditions are changed without your permission, you probably have a personal grievance claim available to you. It is very important that you keep records (dates, times, what was said and what happened) and that you try to get proof of what has happened. For example, if the farm manager tells you to pack your bags and get out, try to get it in writing (email is fine). Try also to have a reliable witness who will agree to give evidence to support your case.

We realise that it can be challenging for small scale employers to know the law, however, what happens to many farm workers is nasty, vindictive and illegal. There are plenty of industry bodies that will help employers to do the right thing, at a reasonable price, so there’s no excuse for bad behaviour on the farm.

If you have any concerns about your work please contact us.

A woman was sick and unable to respond to the employer's four day deadline to discuss the merger of two jobs into one. The employer wouldn't let the sick employee have a time extension to have her say. The woman was made redundant. failing to allow her a time extension meant that the process was unfair. She was awarded $6,000. 

Redundancies happen but they need to be fair. If affected employees are not given enough time to respond the redundancy is probably unfair and you will have a personal grievance.

Most employment cases that go to mediation are resolved there. The mediation will finish with a binding agreement. 

Usually the agreement provides for the payment  of money by the employer to the employee, and other things. It is rare for our clients to be let down by their former employer, however, occasionally it happens. The employee is not paid or they don’t receive their certificate of service or the employee finds out that the employer has failed to keep the settlement confidential. 

What can you do if this happens to you? An application can be made to the Employment Relations Authority for a compliance order which will force the employer to do what they should have done. The ERA can also impose a penalty on the employer and award you costs. If you have a mediation settlement that hasn’t been honoured by the employer please talk to us. We can get everything sorted for you even if you went to mediation with another representative.

A shoe shop owner dismissed an employee because she was unhappy about his decision, out of the blue, to reduce her hours to 25 per week. The employer tried to use a false letter of complaint against the employee - a tactic which backfired in the Employment Relations Authority. The employee received a payout of over $12,000. This case is a reminder that your working hours and conditions cannot usually be changed without your agreement.

Employees need to not feel pressured to always be connected to work via email and mobile calls. Even Business NZ CEO Phil O'Reilly says that employees need to have control. It's a message that more employers need to take on board.

A 16 year old boy sexually harassed at work has been awarded a $35,000 payout. Shame on the employer and the people involved. What a terrible way to start your working life. Sexual harassment can affect men and women. Nobody should have to put up with it. Like rape victims, victims of sexual harassment in the workplace can expect their details to be kept confidential. 

We act mainly for employees. Over the years we’ve dealt with many different types of people who act for employers. Recently we were, again, up against someone from the Employers and Manufacturers Association. The lawyer acting for the employer was thoroughly professional, he defended his clients’ position, but at the same time he was pragmatic and with a problem solving approach.  He did a good job for his clients, and we also did a good job for our client. This is what our client said about us:

Thanks for doing such an amazing job yesterday. Your professional approach and calm manner in dealing with us was exceptional! You made the meeting (although obviously not a great place to be) easier to deal with than if we had been flailing around by ourselves! If we ever have friends in such an unfortunate situation; we will definitely recommend your services.

Employment law is a specialised area that requires the right mix of experience, qualifications, attitude and negotiating skill to do it well. Asking someone to act for you who only dabbles in this area is like asking the operating theatre cleaner to do brain surgery on you.

Of course, we hope that you will come to us if you are an employee with an employment law problem. But if you’re an employer we think that having someone like the EMA acting for you is likely to serve you well.

It is extremely important that any personal grievance is “raised” with your employer within 90 days. This does not mean that the case has to be finished within 90 days; it just means that the employer must be properly advised of your claim within 90 days. Whether you choose to take it further or not is another matter. If you have raised the personal grievance your right to take the claim further usually lasts for 3 years. In reality, most people who raise a personal grievance pursue it immediately, but if you are unsure, all you have to do is ensure that you comply with the 90 day time limit (and make sure that you can prove that you have raised the personal grievance within time). You can then take your time to decide if you will take the case further or not.

There are a few limited circumstances that will allow someone to raise their personal grievance outside of the 90 day period, however, it is not safe to leave your claim in the hope that these might apply to you, as they probably won’t. In a recent case against Air New Zealand, a former employee insisted on trying to pursue a personal grievance outside of the 90 day time limit. She was fined costs of $1750 by the Employment Relations Authority. Don’t let this happen to you. If you think you might have a personal grievance please ask us what we think, as soon as possible. Asking does not commit you to taking the case further, but it helps to protect you from accidentally losing your legal rights.