Employment Court of New Zealand Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa

[2016] NZEmpC 119 Initiative! Un Limited v Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman (Oral Judgment of Judge K G Smith, 15 September 2016) APPLICATION FOR STAY – legal tests applied – stay granted – full amount to be paid to Registrar and held until dispersed by the Court.

[2016] NZEmpC 117 New Zealand Meat Workers and Related Trades Union Incorporated v AFFCO New Zealand Limited (Judgment (No 2) of Judge B A Corkill, 8 September 2016) WAGES – damages at common law – Wages Protection Act 1983 – application of s 11 to unlawful lockouts – re-engagement under collective agreement – unlawful deduction of wages is recoverable – circumstances of individuals to be assessed on a case by case basis – duty to mitigate does not arise.

[2016] NZEmpC 116 Deborah Owen v The Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections (Judgment of Judge Christina Inglis,  5 September 2016) APPLICATION TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE CHALLENGE – principles considered – minor delay – leave granted.

[2016] NZEmpC 113 The Pulp and Paper Industry Council of the Manufacturing and Construction Workers Union v Oji Fibre Solutions (NZ) Ltd (Formerly Carter Holt Harvey Pulp and Paper Ltd) (Judgment of Judge M E Perkins, 31 August 2016) CONTRACT INTERPRETATION – STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – calculation of leave entitlements – relevant daily pay – payment of public holidays occurring within period of leave – costs reserved.

[2016] NZEmpC 111 Maritime Union of New Zealand Inc v The China Navigation Company Pte Limited (Reasons for Judgment of Chief Judge G L Colgan, 29 August 2016) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – LOCKOUT – offers of employment not on a take-it-or-leave-it basis – s 63A(2) complied with – s 82 definition of employee and employer includes prospective employees and employers –  s 82(1)(a)(iv) precondition not met – offer of employment on individual employment agreement does not constitute a lockout – two or more employees necessary for an effective collective agreement – two or more employees not necessary for initiation of collective bargaining – offer of employment transfer does not constitute current employee – collective bargaining initiated lawfully.

[2016] NZEmpC 109 Dotcom v Orduna (Interlocutory Judgment of Chief Judge G L Colgan, 26 August 2016) DISCLOSURE – application for disclosure of other staff employment agreements too wide – other staff time and wage records relevant – disclosure of documents considered relevant business records not oppressive – objection to production by reference to Privacy Act ill-founded – financial documents irrelevant – PAYE records relevant – disclosure of job descriptions ordered – disclosure of wage and time records ordered – disclosure of PAYE documents ordered.

Angela Watson v Capital and Coast District Health Board [2016] NZEmpC 107 (Interlocutory Judgment of Judge B A Corkill) ADMISSIBILITY – DISCLOSURE – whether location of parties during mediation is admissible – purposive interpretation of s 148 – context of mediation considered – evidence inadmissible – disclosure sought on work records, diary notes and medical records – relevance and confidentiality – disclosure ordered on listed documents and records.

Caffe Coffee (NZ) Ltd v Sune Farrimond [2016] NZEmpC 105 (Costs Judgment of Judge B A Corkill) COSTS – principles applied – Court’s Guideline Scale – Calderbank offers – claim for disbursements – contribution to costs and disbursements in the Authority and Court ordered.

Richard Lewis (Labour Inspector) v Silver Fern Farms Limited [2016] NZEmpC 103 (Judgment of Judge K G Smith) HOLIDAYS ACT – whether Labour Day was a public holiday or ‘otherwise working day’ – Labour Inspector investigation – consideration of s 12(3) – collective agreement did not provide for ‘pre-op’ cleaning – pattern of working days not established – challenge dismissed.

[2016] NZEmpC 102 Shane Andrew Mercer v Robert Lester McIntyre (Costs Judgment of Judge Christina Inglis, 18 August 2016) COSTS – plaintiff accepted contribution to costs appropriate – costs quantum assessed by analogy to High Court scale – no reduction of costs for alleged aggravating conduct – costs of $10,700 awarded.

[2016] NZEmpC 99 Auckland International Airport Limited v Tere Kimiangatau, ASB Bank Limited & Westpac New Zealand Limited (Judgment of Chief Judge G L Colgan, 11 August 2016) FREEZING ORDERS – amendment of freezing order.

[2016] NZEmpC 97 Warren Banks v Hockey Manawatu Incorporated (Costs Judgment of Judge Corkill, 5 August) COSTS – principles considered – costs in the Authority should follow the event, based on notional daily rate – costs in the Court considered, including scale assessments and legal charges – Calderbank offers considered and principles applied – conduct of parties factored into costs assessment – allowance for GST – Court disbursements considered – defendant’s financial circumstances considered – total of $123,034.10 awarded.

[2016] NZEmpC 95 Fredrick Pretorius v Marra Construction (2004) Limited (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 2 August 2016) TIME LIMITATION – principles considered – whether an agreement for overtime or bonus payments existed – quantum meruit claims considered and principles applied – claims under the Minimum Wage Act 1983 and Holidays Act 1993 not statute barred.