Injunction to stop dismissal after interim reinstatement…

The Employment Court has ordered an employer not to dismiss an employee without a further order from the Court.

The employer originally dismissed the employee for various allegations of serious misconduct.  The employee obtained an order for interim reinstatement from the Employment Relations Authority and returned to work.  The employer then raised fresh allegations of serious misconduct and was inquiring into those allegations.  The employer advised that dismissal on the fresh allegations was a possible outcome of the investigation. 

The employee went to the Employment Relations Authority to seek an injunction, but the ERA refused to give the injunction.  The Employment Court, however, decided that the ERA was wrong to refuse the injunction and that the employee was entitled to an injunction preventing the employer from dismissing him, without the employer returning to the ERA for an order rescinding or varying the interim reinstatement order.

This prevents an employer from attempting to get around an interim reinstatement order by dismissing the employee for other alleged serious misconduct, without the oversight of the Employment Relations Authority or the Court.




Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington