Employment Court of New Zealand Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa

[2019] NZEmpC 182 Commissioner of Police v New Zealand Police Association Inc (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 12 December 2019) APPLICATION FOR STAY OF PROCEEDINGS – Stay granted by consent

[2019] NZEmpC 180 Allied Petroleum Ltd v First Union Inc (Judgment of Chief Judge Christina Inglis, 10 December 2019) CONSENT – consent orders - applications withdrawn.

[2019] NZEmpC 178 Johnston v The Fletcher Construction Company Ltd (Judgment of Judge K G Smith, 4 December 2019) UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – redundancy – point of redundancy not reached – no unjustified disadvantage – no breach of good faith – contract affirmed – no constructive dismissal – Wages Protection Act 1983 – Holidays Act 2003 – holiday pay owed. 

[2019] NZEmpC 176 Allied Petroleum Ltd v First Union Inc (Interlocutory Judgment of Chief Judge Christina Inglis, 28 November 2019) APPLICATION FOR URGENCY – application for interim injunction to prevent strike action – urgency granted – change of venue granted.

[2019] NZEmpC 174 Clearkin v Geneva Healthcare Ltd (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 26 November 2019) STRIKEOUT – settlement agreement – further claims raised – abuse of Court’s process – claims struck out.

[2019] NZEmpC 172 Cowan v Idea Services Ltd (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 25 November 2019) CHALLENGE – unjustified dismissal – serious misconduct – decision could have been reached by a fair and reasonable employer in the circumstances – challenged dismissed.

[2019] NZEmpC 171 Thorne v Rolton (Judgment of Judge K G Smith, 22 November 2019) CHALLENGE – unjustified dismissal – dismissed via text message – dismissal not in accordance with s103A – challenged dismissed.

[2019] NZEmpC 168 Zhang v Telco Asset Management Ltd (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 20 November 2019) RE-ISSUE – slip rule – inadvertent error – reg 6 Employment Court Regulations 2000 – r 11.10 High Court Rules 2016.

[2019] NZEmpC 166 GEA Process Engineering Ltd v Schicker (Judgment of Judge M E Perkins, 18 November 2019) CHALLENGE – APPLICATION TO REOPEN AUTHORITY INVESTIGATION – APPLICATION FOR RECUSAL OF AUTHORITY MEMBER - Authority had dismissed the proceedings without investigation – complexity of evidentiary issues – disclosure – delay in the Authority – role and function of Authority – investigation reopened.

[2019] NZEmpC 164 Packwood v ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd (Costs Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 14 November 2019) COSTS –successful strikeout – ability to pay – financial circumstances relevant – guideline scale considered - costs awarded.

[2019] NZEmpC 162 Leota v Parcel Express Ltd (Interlocutory Judgment of Chief Judge C Inglis, 13 November 2019) APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FURTHER EVIDENCE – broader interests of justice – no real prejudice.

[2019] NZEmpC 160 Leota v Parcel Express Ltd (Interlocutory Judgment of Chief Judge C Inglis, 12 November 2019) EVIDENCE – ADMISSIBILITY – hearsay – relevance – opinion evidence – equity and good conscience considered – evidence allowed but to be given appropriate weight.

[2019] NZEmpC 158 Ward v Concrete Structures (NZ) Ltd (Judgment of Chief Judge Christina Inglis, 11 November 2019) APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE CHALLENGE –  applicant instructed advocate to file challenged – advocate did not do so – application brought promptly once failure discovered – no significant prejudice – application granted.