In
a recent case, an employee was paid for his work undertaken in two cash
payments. These payments did not fully recompense the employee for the number
of hours he had worked. The employer promised he would pay the amounts
outstanding but no further payments were ever made.
The
Employment Relations Authority upheld the employee’s personal grievance claim
for unjustified dismissal.
The
ERA held that a reasonable person would have taken the employer’s refusal to
pay the employee’s wages as a dismissal.
The
ERA found that the employer’s dismissal process was defective. The employer
failed to raise any concerns he had with the employee and failed to undertake any
investigation. The employer also gave the employee no opportunity to respond to
any concerns before dismissing him.
The
ERA held that the immediate and abrupt dismissal resulted in unfairness to the
employee.
The
ERA ordered the employer to pay the employee over $7,500 in wage arrears for
the 377 hours of work that the employee had received no pay for, plus $5,000 in
compensation for humiliation, loss
of dignity, and injury to feelings.
Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer Wellington
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