Send In the Clowns
Hitting news headlines around the world recently, Josh from Auckland brought a clown with him as a support person to a meeting with his employer, instead of the usual family member, colleague, friend or lawyer representative. Josh was aware he was likely going to be told at the meeting he was to be made redundant due to job cuts after the loss of a large account at the advertising firm he worked for. During the meeting the clown blew up balloons and mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was handed over to Josh lightening the mood and no doubt taking the mickey out of his employer.
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.
Availability Provisions in Employment Agreements
The 2016 amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000 introduced rules around when and how an availability provision can be included in an employment agreement. However there has been uncertainty as to how broadly the rules could be applied. The case of Fraser v McDonald’s Restaurants (NZ) Limited [2017] was the first landmark case to assess whether availability provision rules were engaged or infringed. Since then there has been debate over whether these rules apply to just ‘zero hours’ workers and or whether they apply to all employees.
The Importance of Employment Agreements
In our everyday work it is still a common occurrence for us to see employees who do not have written employment agreements and employers who have not provided written employment agreements to their staff. We also from time to time see of employment agreements that are outdated or contain illegal provisions .
Managing both Employees and Mental Health Risks in the Workplace
The prevalence of those suffering from mental health issues in New Zealand has been a huge focus in the media this year. This has been further highlighted by the current governments review and subsequent promise to do more in this area with subsequent policy changes imminent. Naturally this issue flows into the workplace (given people spend over 60% of their time at work). Employers need to take mental health issues of employees very seriously. Further in order to discharge their health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSAW) employers are now having to ensure the psychosocial safety (not just physical safety) for those in the workplace.
