$30,000 penalties for unjustified dismissal and breach of good faith…

The Employment Relations Authority has found an employer to have unjustifiably disadvantaged and unjustifiably dismissed an employee and so upheld his personal grievance.

The employer short paid the employee’s wages and holiday pay and failed to provide him with an employment agreement.  When the employee raised these issues with the employer the employer told the employee that it was in liquidation.  That was untrue.

The ERA ordered the company to pay unpaid wages of $2,800, lost wages following his dismissal of $7,660 and compensation for the hurt and humiliation suffered by way of the unjustified dismissal of $18,000.

In addition the employer was fined $2,000 for failing to provide a written employment agreement and $3,000 for its breach of good faith in lying about its position as to liquidation.  The ERA held that this was designed to discourage the employee from proceeding with his claims, but was untrue and done in bad faith.

The ERA ordered that $2,500 of the $5,000 penalties be paid to the employee, with the other 50% going to the Crown.




Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington