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.
Volunteers – who are they and what should you be aware of?
A very recent decision by the Chief Judge of the Employment Court has been very useful at setting out the rules surrounding who is and who is not a volunteer for the purposes of assessing rights and obligations around minimum employment entitlements.
The case, which revolved around a camping ground in the Tauranga region, examined the status of a person who provided services to the owners of the camping ground in return for a very small cash payment and a waiver of camping fees.
Government push to address pay equity
Considering New Zealand was the first country to extend the right to vote to women it is rather perplexing that such a prominent issue facing the country is the disparity in pay between the two genders. A simple google search makes it abundantly clear that the issue remains a significant one. Yet the problem remains.
In a potentially game-changing move, the government recently announced its decision to implement recommendations made by the joint working group on ay equity. This will see updates to the Equal Pay Act and the Employment Relations Act, creating a modern day process for women to have their claims of gender pay parity heard and assessed.
Failure to Acknowledge Family Relationship Unfair
The nature of family relationships has changed a lot over recent years. Back in the day you would have a mother and father and a handful of siblings. If you were lucky you’d have the odd grandparent, and maybe a smattering of cousins (not trying to imply that all your grandparents were odd). But today this all seems to have changed and sometimes it’s impossible to get your head around the technicalities of merged families.
Insurance - Landlord & Tenant Obligations
Note: This ruling was subsequently successfully appealed. See details here
Picture this: You have worked hard and saved for ten years. You have built up enough equity to purchase a rental property (they are paying for themselves at the moment, so why wouldn’t you?) You arrange for tenants to move in and all seems well. That is, until the tenants leave and you discover they’ve trashed the place. Until recently you would have been able to claim the cost of repair of this damage from the Tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. However, this position has recently changed.
