Changes to the Skills Shortage List
Finding suitable employees for any given position can prove a difficult task for many employers. This has seen employers often become reliant on a migrant work force to meet their employment needs.
Tea bags and other assorted irritations
The world has gone crazy. All I wanted today for morning tea was a cup of Earl Grey tea. What did I find? - packet after packet of green tea and berry tea. When I asked why we did not have ordinary tea apparently we don’t drink ordinary tea anymore because “we all drink green tea or berry tea.”
Well I don’t!
U r fired (Fire emoji) - How not to dismiss employees
Has your employer fired you over text message? Has your employer made claims about your behaviour, but can’t remember times or dates when said behavior occurred? Has your employer failed to discuss matters with you at all before deciding to fire you? You probably don’t need a lawyer to tell you that this sort of conduct by employers is not only unprofessional, but illegal. If you find yourself in a situation like this you may also be entitled to claim thousands of dollars in compensation.
Mitigation & Contribution (Part 2)
My last article addressed a recent decision of the Employment Court which examined both mitigation of loss and contribution. As I said the implications of the decision, in terms of contribution, would be discussed in a later article; this article.
The Employment Relations Act requires the Authority or the Court (whichever is hearing the claim) to consider contribution. What this means is that after finding a claimant has a valid personal grievance the Authority or Court must then (and the word “must” is used, meaning this is mandatory) go on to look at whether, although the dismissal or action was unjustified, the employee contributed to the situation. If so, what does this mean in terms of remedies?
Mitigation & Contribution (Part 1)
For any employment dispute which proceeds to hearing (whether before the Employment Relations Authority or the Employment Court) two issues will always arise for any ex-employee seeking to establish a grievance for unjustified dismissal. Mitigation of lost wages and contribution.
Up until the end of last year there had been numerous comments by both the Authority and the Court about mitigation and contribution. However, there lacked a “watershed” decision which really brought together all the principles and clearly articulated how those issues need to be addressed. Thankfully, at least for those of us who practice in the employment law area, a single decision of the Employment Court has addressed both topics in depth.
