Kate Wilkinson Urged Not to Change Constructive Dismissal Laws

The Hon Kate Wilkinson says that New Zealand’s constructive dismissal laws need to be reviewed – presumably to make them more favourable to employer. 

We believe that any such law changes are unnecessary.

What is a constructive dismissal? It is where an employee feels that he or she has no option but to resign. Common reasons why employees feel forced out are:

• Employees who are threatened with dismissal, or something else nasty, if they don’t resign.
• Ongoing sexual or racial harassment that the employer knows about but fails to deal with effectively.
• The employer making unilateral changes to the employment relationship.
• Deliberately creating an unpleasant work environment so the employee resigns.

It is more difficult for an employee to win a constructive dismissal claim than an ordinary type of dismissal claim. Because the scales are already tilted well towards the employer, any more changes that favour employers are unfair and unnecessary.