ERA orders party to comply with settlement agreement

The Employment Relations Authority has issued a compliance order after a party to a settlement agreement failed to meet its obligations under the agreement.

The parties had previously attended mediation and entered into a final, binding and enforceable agreement which was signed by a Mediator from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The ERA ordered the breaching party to comply with the Record of Settlement however noted that some of the clauses in the agreement could not be enforced as the ERA has no jurisdiction to order compliance against third parties who are not party to a Record of Settlement.

The ERA was also concerned over the fact that there were no time frames in which certain actions had to be completed under the agreement. This also made some clauses in the agreement difficult to enforce. Accordingly, the ERA refused to impose any penalties upon the party in breach of the agreement.

Alan Knowsley

Employment Lawyer Wellington