An employer has been ordered to pay four employees compensation for personal grievances after the Employment Relations Authority found that he had underpaid his staff and disadvantaged their employment before unjustifiably dismissing them.

The four employees alleged that they worked significantly more hours than they were paid for, and sought wage arrears to compensate for this. They also raised personal grievances for unjustified actions causing disadvantage to their employment, and for unjustified dismissal.

Wage Arrears

The employees claimed that they worked a minimum of six days per week for ten hours per day without meal or rest breaks. This equated to 60 hours a week of work, when they were only paid for 40. The employees sought backpay of these wages for the extra hours they had worked.

The employees supplied evidence that included:

• Third-party witnesses who gave evidence of interacting with the employees during the hours they claimed.
• Partners, family and flatmates giving evidence about when the employees left home for work and when they returned.
• GPS records showing the location of their cars on various days.
• Use of a user code number when accessing the cash register. This showed when they logged in to use the cash register.
• Various messages and texts relating to their work and their work hours.
• Photo evidence of them working on the premises during the hours they claimed.
• Diary entries.

The employer presented employment agreements and timesheets to the Authority, neither of which showed the actual hours worked by the employees. The Authority found that most of the timesheets had been filled in with the same handwriting which supported the employee’s claim that the timesheets were wrongly filled in for them, and they were made to sign.

Because of this the Authority made orders for the employer to pay each of the employees the wages they were owed. In total the employer had to pay $456,364 to the four employees.

Unjustified actions causing disadvantage

The employees also claimed that by being made to work long hours without correct pay and without rests, meal breaks, and leave entitlements, their employment was unjustifiably disadvantaged.

The Authority found that the employer acted in a way that was unjustified as they were not actions that a “fair and reasonable” employer could have taken in the circumstances. Because the employer failed to meet minimum employment standards, this did cause a disadvantage to the employees. The Authority was satisfied that the employees had a valid personal grievance.

Unjustified Dismissal

The employees also claimed that when the employer company was sold, they were dismissed without sufficient consultation or notice. They claim this made their dismissal unjustified. The Authority accepted that the employees were dismissed by the employer and that this was not done in accordance with correct procedure. They were not given an opportunity to provide feedback on the potential loss of their employment. They were found to have been unjustifiably dismissed as a result.

Compensation

Since the Authority accepted both personal grievances raised by the employees, the employer was ordered to pay $32,000 to each of the employees as compensation for their unjustified disadvantage and dismissal.

These payments, along with the significant wage arrears, brought the total amount the employer had to pay to around $590,000.

Takeaways

This case shows employers the importance of adhering to employment standards. Treating employees fairly and transparently is important to avoid situations such as these.

For employees, if this kind of treatment is occurring, it may be prudent to meet with an experienced employment lawyer to discuss your position, rights, and potential options.

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.