In this edition we look at:
- Reduced remedies for employees unjustifiably dismissed
where a flawed procedure did not change the outcome.
- Crackdown on breach of employment law requirements:
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment enforcement action
against dairy farmers.
- Farm bike safety: reminder that helmets must be worn on
quad bikes even when off-road.
Unjustified dismissal for animal cruelty does not result in
remedies
Employers should take some respite in a recent Employment Court
case, where a dairy worker dismissed for animal cruelty was not
awarded any financial remedies, even though the dismissal was
considered procedurally unjustified.
In Waterford Holdings Limited v Morunga, the herd
manager, Mr Morunga, was dismissed for serious allegations of
animal cruelty, including driving farm bikes into stock, slamming
gates into stock, and kicking at stock. Following the dismissal, Mr
Morunga raised a personal grievance for unjustified
