Compensation for the loss of the benefit of an employer’s contribution to an employee’s KiwiSaver account can be claimed but the Employment Relations Authority does not have jurisdiction to order an employer to make KiwiSaver contributions to an employee’s fund. That being the case, when an employer fails to make the required KiwiSaver contribution, employees should bring a personal grievance against the employer and claim a remedy for loss of a benefit rather than ask the Authority to order the employer to make the payment.

Faitala v Terranova Homes & Care Ltd

Never take a prepared letter into a disciplinary meeting as it shows complete pre-determination of the outcome, which could result in an unjustified dismissal.  The only exception to this is during a 90-Day Trial Period in which case it is OK to bring a prepared letter confirming the dismissal.  For more information on the correct disciplinary process, contact the office.

In issue were the provisions pertaining to “relevant daily pay” that were in force before 1 April 2011. Though the Court deliberately refrained from commenting on how its decision might affect interpretation of the post-1 April 2011 provisions, the strong similarity of those provisions should certainly make this case of interest to those whose workers have elements of remuneration that they do not invariably receive.

This Member’s Bill amends the Employment Relations Act 2000, to insert a new Part 6E to provide the following minimum statutory entitlements for employees in the event of dismissal for redundancy:

Posted on: Oct 26, 2012 Question: I applied for a management position with a publishing firm. X and I were short listed for the position. I know X personally. We are both single but I have day-to-day care of a young child. X got the job. I asked a friend who works for the firm why I had missed out on the job. She said that she had been told that the manager thought we were both good candidates but

The Privacy Commissioner said it was not necessary, in terms of Principle 1 of the Privacy Act, for a credit check to be carried out on a woman who applied for a job as a part-time retail assistant with a large retail chain employer. The job application had been completed online on the store’s website. As part of the process she was required to consent to the store carrying out a credit check on her.

An employee who, while she was on duty as bar manager, left the premises for only a few minutes to attend to personal matters was dismissed justifiably for serious misconduct.

Months of testing synthetic cannabis products like Kronic have paved the way for workplace testing. Kirk Hardy from the NZ Drug Detection Agency joins Matthew Beattie from workplace behavioural healthcare company Instep to discuss the implications.

Question: An employee’s last working day is 31 May 2012. His next holiday anniversary date is 1 April 2013. His annual leave due to 31 March 2012 is 30 days at $200 per day ($6,000). His gross earnings for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 May 2012 are $10,000.