No such thing as an unpaid trial
Employers keep getting trial periods wrong and it keeps costing them money. Biform Limited found this out recently when they were found to have unjustifiably dismissed W after he had worked two trial half-days. It cost them nearly $4000.00 (not including legal costs)
Yes it's cold - it's winter.
If you are an employment lawyer there are two times of the year where problems ‘peak’. The weeks leading up to Christmas where employers all want to fire people who have irritated them all year and the middle of winter.
Can my employer fire me for something I wrote on my Facebook page?
Yes - conduct outside of the workplace can justify dismissal.
That includes posting comments and video footage on Facebook if it is found to be incompatible with the proper discharge of the employee’s duties and could undermine an employer’s trust and confidence in that employee.
Casual Employees and the Holidays Act
We often get queries from Employers about this topic. If you don’t get this right, you could end up paying holiday pay twice.
Probationary Periods in Employment Agreements - Should Employers Use Them?
Now that employers with 20 or more employees do not have the ability to dismiss those employees who are ‘not working out’ under the 90 day trial period clause, they need to decide whether they should implement the less powerful but more labour intensive probationary periods in their employment agreements.
An employer may require a newly hired employee to serve a period of probation to give the employer an opportunity to evaluate the employee’s performance before confirming the appointment.
