Question: An employee has had a workplace accident. The employee has sick leave available. I understand they are entitled to be paid for the first week (or part thereof) to compensate them for lost earnings, at 80% of what they would have earned that week. Can an employee choose to receive sick leave rather than 80% of their standard wage when they have a workplace accident?

In Barclay v Richmond Services Ltd [2014] NZERA Auckland 126, the employee claimed she had been constructively dismissed. She said the employer wished to be rid of her and she listed a number of incidents for which she had been disciplined during her employment and claimed that a complaint that she had bullied a client which led to a fifth disciplinary matter was the “final straw” that forced her to tender her resignation.

Whether a person is acting as an employee or an independent contractor depends upon the provisions of the agreement, and the real nature of the relationship between the parties. Contractors do not have the same rights as employees, and should therefore seek advice from a lawyer, accountant or other advocate, before entering into this sort of working arrangement.

An employer successfully sought recovery of training costs incurred by it in respect of a Diploma in Advanced Automation undertaken by an employee, who denied liability for the training costs.

Employers who are considering making employees redundant must properly consider any proposals put forward by affected employees. If this is not done the employer will not have acted in a fair and reasonable manner and any dismissal for redundancy may be found to be unjustified.

Chester Borrows, 24 June 2014

There are a variety of different types of employment agreements that can apply to employment relationships, including:

An employee whose religion required him to observe the Sabbath (in this case, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) was successful in the Human Rights Review Tribunal in his case of religious discrimination. He had obtained a job at AFFCO’s meatworks, being asked merely if he was available for overtime. In similar employment previously, overtime had been voluntary and the employee had been able to fit it around his Sabbath observance. So, when asked by AFFCO, he had merely answered in the affirmative.

This is in response to a recent Court ruling that found a week is the longest period which salaried workers could be assessed for compliance with the Minimum Wage Act.

With an important message for us all…