The Employment Court has found against the employee who claimed he was underpaid $252.  In the Employment Relations Authority the claim had been upheld but the Employment Court found that the method of calculation of the payment by the employer was correct and that the Employment Relations Authority method of calculation was incorrect.  The difference between the two figures was only $252 but the employer challenged the calculation in the Employment Court because it has many employees and the implication of the method of calculation would have far reaching effects on others in a similar position.

The calculation related to a final payment when an employee works a part of a month but is paid an annual salary based on a monthly amount.  The Employment Court found that the annual salary should be divided by 260 normal working days (Monday to Friday) in a year to obtain a daily rate and then that is multiplied by the number of working days in the month that the employee worked.

Alan Knowsley

Employment Lawyer
Wellington