Pbel Blog
Some employers and employees deserve each other
There are rare occasions when you feel like saying “you two deserve each other” and one of these occasions involves an employee Mr Kumar and Mr Ajay Kumar Gaur, the director of two companies, for whom Mr Kumar worked. When appearing before the Employment Relations …
Shouting at the world on Facebook and Twitter
What you say on facebook or tweet may cost you your job. In March of 2010 Tania Dickinson, an employee of the Ministry of Social Development, described herself in a Facebook post as a “very expensive paperweight” who is “highly competent in the art of …
Zero Tolerance to Violence at Work
Many employers have a zero tolerance policy towards violence in the workplace and, while the law recognises this sloganised policy is admirable in principle, they have warned the devil is as always, in the detail. In Housham v Juken New Zealand Ltd, a case involving …
Warning Warning Warning – Another employer victim of 90 day trial period
The minefield of the 90 day trial period claims another employer victim. On 30 May 2013 (day 88 of a trial period) Canon New Zealand Ltd terminated the employment of Brent Hutchison with notice. However, the Authority determined the notice was defective and Brent could …
Christchurch rebuild companies are falling foul of employment law
New construction, painting and other trade related companies looking to make their fortune during the Christchurch rebuild are falling foul of employment law. Some are employing staff as contractors when the real nature of the relationships is that of an employee. Others have a thumbnail …
Unsafe Work Practices can Cost Lives
Asbestos, over the years a killer of many workers, has hit the headlines again as information emerges that workers involved in the demolition and repair of buildings in Christchurch have been exposed to it. Why has this happened? Wasn’t the Pike River mine disaster enough …
Serious concerns with conduct of 0800SACKED
In a decision dated 18 October 2010 the Employment Relations Authority found that Antoinette Cuthill-Coutts, an employment advocate with Employment Disputes Ltd, a company that is otherwise known as 0800SACKED, had been unjustifiably constructively dismissed. Of equal significance the Authority declared that it had no …
The Case of the Vegetables that Damaged Frost
Susan Frost claimed she was unjustifiably dismissed by her employer Cullen’s Fruit and Vege Limited, better known to Nelson locals as the Victory Fruit and Veg Shop and she was right; but her win came at a cost because the Employment Relations Authority decided that …