Procedural Fairness

Over the last year there has been a series of decisions from the Employment Court which have commented on the depth of a ‘fair process’. These cases make it clear that now more is expected from an employer when they are conducting a process that may impact on an employee’s continued employment than has been required in the past.

The frustration employers face is that even when there is an obvious substantive reason for ending an employment relationship the employment institutions may find some fault in procedure and decide to grant the employee compensation. Even in those cases where the employee’s act warrants a disciplinary action a misstep in procedure can provide fertile ground for a claim of disadvantage.