Employee fined for breaching settlement agreement confidentiality…

The Employment Relations Authority has found that an employee breached the confidentiality and non-disparaging clauses of a mediated settlement agreement and has fined the employee $800.

The employee and employer went to mediation and agreed to settle their differences.  As part of the terms of that agreement the employee was to keep all matters confidential and not to make any disparaging remarks about the employer.

Immediately upon conclusion of the settlement agreement the employee went back to the workplace to collect his personal effects and while in the workplace told employees about his settlement and made disparaging remarks about the employer.  Two of his colleagues advised the employer of the employee’s actions. 

The ERA held that the breaches of the agreement were deliberate, but at a low level and were confined to the two employees in question.  It therefore imposed a small fine on the employee for the breaches.  The maximum fine could have been up to $20,000.




Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington