NEWS FLASH

EMPLOYEE STARTS ONE DAY EARLY:  EMPLOYER 100% LOOSES RIGHT TO APPLY THE NEW TRIAL PERIOD.

In a recent Employment Court decision the Chief Employment Court Judge found that because the employee started work a day before she signed the employment agreement she was therefore not a “new employee” and therefore the trial period provisions did not apply to her!

The Judgment also found that the employment agreement was defective, because of issues with the provisions about payment in lieu of notice, and also that the process followed was defective.

This decision is quite contrary to the always expressed view that Employment Law should be interpreted with some flexibility. However, the decision sets out the law nevertheless unless and until it is changed by other Court decisions or a change in the legislation.

For Employers:

Employment contracts need regular review as do processes. Also, when purchasing a business if employees are being taken over special care needs to be taken.

For Employees:

Even if you have been dismissed during a trial period if you believe that things have been done badly you may well have a claim for reinstatement and or compensation. If you are unhappy about the situation it always worth having it checked just in case.

Employee loses $6000 because of her Facebook comments:

In another recent decision and much disputed manner an employee who was dismissed for clearly unsatisfactory conduct nevertheless won her claim that her dismissal was procedurally defective and she therefore had a valid personal grievance claim.  She then lost $6000 because of abusive comments which she put on Facebook, thereby losing the greater part of the award initially made in her favour. This happened even though the comments were placed on Facebook after her dismissal.

Our comment:

Employment law remains a minefield. It is almost always cheaper in the long run to take advice first on both process and documentation before taking action or using documents rather than afterwards. Also, the law and courts’ interpretations are constantly changing and documents need regular reviews and upgrades to be compliant.  If you do have any enquiries at any stage on any matters please refer to us.