The Employment Relations Authority has upheld a personal
grievance claim for unjustified dismissal and for short payment of wages and
holiday pay after an employee was dismissed with no process at all. The dismissal by the employer was immediate
and abrupt and the employee was not advised of any issues or given any ability
to respond. It followed therefore that
there was no consideration of any response and the dismissal was unjustified.
The employee claimed the sum of $300 for hurt and
humiliation as a result of the unjustified dismissal and this was awarded by
the Employment Relations Authority.
However, if the employee had been represented he would probably have
been advised that he could claim a much higher amount and that much higher
figures are normally awarded for such a bad process resulting in unjustified
dismissal. He claimed $300 in this case,
but if properly advised may have received between $10,000 to $20,000 in
compensation for the hurt and humiliation suffered.
During his period of employment the employee was also
short paid, because he was not paid the minimum wage and he was also not
properly paid his holiday pay or sick leave.
A further $8,500 was awarded to cover those shortfalls. Once again, if the employee had been properly
advised, he may have applied for penalties to be imposed on the employer for
non-payment of the minimum wage, non-payment of holiday pay and non-payment of
sick pay. Other cases have seen substantial
penalties imposed on employers for those shortcomings, often with a portion of
the penalties being paid to the employee.
Knowing your rights and options before launching into
proceedings can make the difference between under-claiming and making appropriate
claims in the Employment Relations Authority.
Alan
Knowsley
Employment
Lawyer Wellington
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