Employee justifiably dismissed under 90 day trial clause after volunteering at the workplace…

An employee has been dismissed under a 90 day trial period clause for poor performance. The employee had previously volunteered at the workplace for a day prior to signing her employment agreement. The employer referred to this arrangement as a ‘pre-employment test’.

The Employment Relations Authority rejected the employee’s personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal.

The ERA held that the 90 day trial clause was effective despite the employee’s previous work experience for the employer.

The ERA noted that there had been no discussion of payment for the number of hours she worked during the pre-employment test, and at no stage had the employee queried the non-payment, presented a time-sheet for those hours, or requested payment for that day.

The ERA found that the employee had not received an offer of employment prior to the test, and found that the employee’s employment agreement clearly stated the commencement date of employment as starting a couple of days after the test had taken place.

The ERA thus found that the employee was justifiably dismissed in accordance with the trial period clause in her employment agreement.