Employment Court of New Zealand Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa

[2016] NZEmpC 167 A Labour Inspector of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment v Tech 5 Recruitment (Judgment of the Full Court, 16 December, 2016) PREMIUMS – whether employment agreements contained premium clause – s 12A Wages Protection Act – the meaning of “premium” defined – trade-testing costs were premium – employment agreements containing obligations to pay are “seeking a premium” – challenge successful.

[2016] NZEmpC 165 Tere Lawson v New Zealand Transport Agency (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 13 December 2016) UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL – REMEDIES –   plaintiff dismissed for serious misconduct – not all issues and evidence being considered by employer were put to plaintiff - inadequate process conducted - good record relevant to choice of outcomes – not considered by employer –challenge succeeded – contribution – impact of subsequently discovered conduct – significant misconduct to be taken into account – no remedies awarded under s 123.

[2016] NZEmpC 163 Darren John Tobin v Rapid Labels Limited (Interlocutory Judgment by Consent of Judge Christina Inglis, 8 December 2016) CONSENT ON COSTS –costs ordered by Authority to be paid into Court pending outcome of challenge.

[2016] NZEmpC 161 New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Assoc Inc v Air New Zealand Ltd (Judgment of Judge Christina Inglis, 1 December 2016) CONTRACT INTERPRETATION – ESTOPPEL - effect of “downtraining” and contractual obligations – analysis of circumstances and history of relevant contractual clauses – consideration of principles of contractual interpretation – pilots employed as “pilots simpliciter” rather to particular positions – airline aimed to avoid redundancy  - estoppel considered – tests not met – challenge dismissed.

[2016] NZEmpC 158 Kidd v Beaumont (Judgment of Chief Judge G L Colgan, 28 November 2016) VOLUNTEER OR EMPLOYEE? - s 6 – meaning of ‘volunteer’ considered – case law considered - correct approach stated – plaintiff was employee - changing election to de novo challenge acceptable – identity of employer – no evidence to support unjustified or constructive dismissal – grievance claim dismissed.

[2016] NZEmpC 157 Eden Group Ltd v Jackson (Interlocutory Judgment by Consent of Judge Christina Inglis, 25 November 2016) CONSENT – DISCOVERY – computer forensic access - orders specified.

[2016] NZEmpC 155 Josue Domingo v Meng Suon and Ngan Heng (t/a Town and Country Food) (Oral interlocutory Judgment of Judge Christina Inglis, 23 November 2016) LEAVE TO FILE STATEMENT OF DEFENCE OUT OF TIME – granted on condition of strict compliance with timetabling orders and amount to be paid into court.

[2016] NZEmpC 153 Spotless Facility Services NZ Limited v Anne Mackay (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 21 November 2016) CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL – principles considered – “final straw” cases considered  - sequence of events important – genuine but mistaken belief that employer’s response destructive of trust and confidence – no constructive dismissal –  submissions sought on the question of disadvantage grievance.

[2016] NZEmpC 151 Darren Brett Carr, Labour Inspector v Vishaal Kumar Sharma (Sentencing Notes of Judge M E Perkins, 17 November 2016) OBSTRUCTING A LABOUR INSPECTOR – GUILTY PLEA – SENTENCING – s 235 charge - guilty plea entered  –criminal jurisdiction of Employment Court and Sentencing Act applies – principles of sentencing applied –factors to be considered in discharge without conviction – discharge without conviction - $500 towards costs ordered against defendant.

[2016] NZEmpC 149 New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa v Secretary for Education (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 17 November 2016) CONTRACT INTERPRETATION – ANNUALISATION PAYMENTS – leap year - no provision that annualisation should be consecutive in effect – how to fix annualisation period for 2017/2018 tax year – should commence 1 February 2017.

ITE v ALA (Costs Judgment of Judge Christina Inglis, 15 November 2016) COSTS – indemnity costs sought and partially allowed– certain costs excluded – total sum of $153,120 costs awarded against plaintiff.

[2016] NZEmpC 144 John Onepu Rossiter v AFFCO New Zealand Limited (Interlocutory Judgment of Chief Judge G L Colgan, 8 November 2016) STAY – whether challenge to stay of investigation meeting precluded by s 179(5) – parliamentary purpose considered – access to justice – challenge not precluded.

[2016] NZEmpC 145 S v I Ltd (interlocutory Judgment (No 4) of judge B A Corkill, 4 November 2016) DISCOVERY – principles of relevance, proportionality, reasonableness discussed – history of proceedings traversed – defendant to provide verified list of documents.