Employment Court of New Zealand Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa

[2022] NZEmpC 233 Baillie v The Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children (Judgment of Judge K G Smith, 16 December 2022) PERSONAL GRIEVANCE - UNJUSTIFIABLE DISMISSAL - employer did not sufficiently establish finding of serious misconduct - summary dismissal was unjustifiable - reinstatement practicable and reasonable - reinstatement ordered - lost wages and compensation awarded.

[2022] NZEmpC 232 Kang v Saena Company Ltd (Costs Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 14 December 2022) COSTS - legal aid - uplift for Calderbank offer - adjusted for partial success - costs awarded.

[2022] NZEmpC 230 Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand v CultureSafe New Zealand Ltd (Interlocutory Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 13 December 2022) APPLICATION FOR AUDIO RECORDINGS – not appropriate to provide audio – whether transcript should be provided – transcript already exists so no risk of wasting court resources – application granted.

[2022] NZEmpC 228 Hairland Holdings Ltd v The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Interlocutory Judgment (No 3) of Judge K G Smith, 9 December 2022) APPLICATION FOR STAY – application granted by consent.

[2022] NZEmpC 226 Association of Professionals and Executive Employees Inc (APEX) v Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand (Judgment of Judge J C Holden, 7 December 2022) UNLAWFUL PREFERENCE – employer provided a preference to one union over the other by increasing penal rates on the basis of union membership – intention behind preference is not relevant for the purpose of s 9 – employer did not breach duty of good faith.

[2022] NZEmpC 223 FGH v RST (Judgment of Judge B A Corkill, 6 December 2022) PERSONAL GRIEVANCE - UNJUSTIFIABLE DISADVANTAGE - social media posts can be subject of disciplinary process - initiating employment investigation into social media posts was fair and reasonable in the circumstances - placing employee on paid sick leave was fair and reasonable in the circumstances - employee was not unjustifiably disadvantaged.

[2022] NZEmpC 221 Pilgrim v The Attorney-General (Interlocutory Judgment (No 1) of Chief Judge Christina Inglis, 2 December 2022) APPOINTMENT OF COURT EXPERT – expert appointed.

[2022] NZEmpC 220 Shah Enterprise NZ Ltd v A Labour Inspector of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Costs Judgment of Judge J C Holden, 1 December 2022) COSTS – GUIDELINE SCALE – costs awarded.

[2022] NZEmpC 217 Karunanayake v FED (Judgment of Judge J C Holden, 30 November 2022) NATURE OF EMPLOYMENT – defendant was an employee – defendant must be paid for work done – unpaid wages and holiday pay awarded – NON-PUBLICATION – Court recognises publication of the defendant’s name may harm future employment prospects – proceedings were simply taken to enforce minimum employment standards and should not result in such consequences – non-publication granted for defendant – non-publication not granted for plaintiff.

[2022] NZEmpC 215 Drivesure Ltd v McQuillan (Costs Judgment of Judge J C Holden, 30 November 2022) COSTS – GUIDELINE SCALE – costs awarded.

[2022] NZEmpC 213 Ashby v NIWA Vessel Management Ltd (Costs Judgment of Judge J C Holden, 29 November 2022) COSTS – GUIDELINE SCALE – costs awarded.

[2022] NZEmpC 211 Gera v Platform 4 Group Ltd (Consent Judgment of Judge Kathryn Beck, 29 November 2022) CONSENT.

[2022] NZEmpC 209 Anderson v Noa Farms (2014) Ltd (Judgment of Judge Kathryn Beck, 24 November 2022) APPLICATION FOR COMPLIANCE ORDER – defendant has not paid amounts owed – compliance order made.