12. KATE WILKINSON (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Labour
Does she have confidence in the Employment Relations Authority; if so, why?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) Link to this
Yes, I do. The Employment Relations Authority receives over 2,000 applications a year, one-third of which are determined by the authority. Very few cases from the authority progress to the Employment Court.
Why should employers have confidence in the Employment Relations Authority when the authority is willing to order the payment of more than $8,000 to a restaurant manager who was fired after he failed to turn up to work, turned up drunk on another occasion and had to be sent home, on another occasion verbally abused staff and caused the business to lose custom, and lied on his CV?
As the member should be aware, given her previous profession, it is not my role to comment on the determinations of an independent judiciary body.
Does she think that employment law should protect abusive, truant, and drunk employees from being dismissed, and punish employers who try to dismiss them?
As the member should know from her previous profession, it is not appropriate for me, as Minister, to comment on individual determinations of the authority.
Darien FentonHas the Minister seen any figures on how many employment relationship problems have been solved in mediation, thus negating the need to escalate them to the Employment Relations Authority?
Actually, I have: 9,000 applications are made to access the department’s mediation services every year, and, of those, about 80 percent end in a settlement.
Peter BrownIn a general sense, is it not true that when the disputes resolution system under the Employment Relations Authority came into being it acted more speedily, with fewer financial resources, and less hassle and stress on the individuals involved than the system that operated under the Employment Contracts Act; if it was true then, is it still the case now?
The answer to that question is, in the main, yes. It certainly was true at the beginning. There have been some delays in determinations being issued, as the member who asked the primary question has ascertained through her questions. That situation has certainly been resolved, as I have been advised.
Will she admit that it is procedurally difficult to dismiss an underperforming employee, given that in this case there was an agreed trial period, there was monitoring and mentoring for 2 months, and there were at least 12 different performance incidents, yet the employer still lost; if not, why not?
No. As the two research proposals that have been made public have indicated, this is not borne out by the facts.
Why, in light of these types of decisions, should employers bother to gamble by going before the Employment Relations Authority, when they could settle for an average of $5,000, to give them some certainty?