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Authors: Bronwyn Heenan, Rebecca Rendle
Published: 16 June 2016
Pages: 23

Introduction

There have been a series of significant cases determined by the Employment Court (Court) in relation to redundancy since 2010, starting with the case of Wang v Hamilton Multicultural Society¹ and culminating with the Court of Appeal's decision in Grace Team Accounting Ltd v Brake.²

• the genuineness of the redundancy; and
• whether the dismissal was carried out in a procedurally fair manner.

Following a series of decisions, the Court of Appeal confirmed in Grace Team Accounting v
Brake that the Authority and Court are entitled to inquire into the merits of a business decision. This is to enable an assessment to be made about whether the decision was what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in all the circumstances, as required by s 103A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (the ERA).

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1 [2010] NZEmpC 142.
2 [2013] NZEmpC 81; [2014] NZCA 541.
 

Content outline

• Key provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000
  • Good Faith
  • Test of Justification
• Key cases
• Good faith obligations regarding the provision of information
• Amendment to the ERA