Employment+Law+-+Termination

Employment Law ﻿  // * State four ways that an employment relationship can be terminated and what would the employee be entitled to when terminating the employment agreement? //

The law relating to termination of an employment relationship comes from The New Zealand Employment Relations Act 2000. It was substantially amended by the Employment Relations (Validation of Union Registration and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2001 and by the ERAA (No 2) 2004.
 * // Where does the law with regards to this area come from? //**

// What is required by law in termination of an employment relationship? // There are several ways in which employment relationships may be ended. We set out the most common ones here.  · Fixed-term agreements  · Resignation  · Dismissal  · Redundancy If an employee believes that the employer acted unjustifiably in ending the employment relationship, the employee can challenge the employer's decision. The termination of an agreement should be fair and justifiable.
 * //What is the impact of this law and how does it imply in the work relationships in New Zealand? //**

Fixed-term employment agreements
A fixed-term agreement can be ended when the agreement says it will end, for example, at a specified time or after a particular job or project is finished. However, the agreement must have a fixed term for genuine reasons. An employee who believes that the job was really a permanent one can take a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal. Fixed-term arrangements must be recorded in writing in the employment agreement.

Resignation
Employees may resign at any time, provided they give reasonable notice (i.e. saying ahead of time what date they plan to leave). What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances, such as length of service or seniority, or what is agreed in the employment agreement.

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Giving notice & final payment
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">If the employee gives the required notice, the employer must pay the employee to the end of the notice period and all holiday pay, unless the employee is justifiably dismissed during that period. The employment relationship continues until that date. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The employee may be required to work for the full notice period or may be asked to stop coming to work before this date. In either case, the employee should be paid to the end of the notice period. If pay is stopped before the end of the notice period, the employee may be able to claim for wages owed. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">If an employee leaves work without giving notice, the employer is not required to pay for time beyond the employee's last actual working day. The employer must not deduct pay in lieu of notice from any amount owed to the employee unless the employee agrees in writing.

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dismissal
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">There must be a good reason for a dismissal and the dismissal must be carried out fairly. Or the employee can do a personal grievance claim against the employee.

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explanation of dismissal
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">If an employee is dismissed, he or she has the right under the Employment Relations Act to ask the employer for a written statement of the reasons for dismissal. This request can be made up to 60 days after the dismissal, or 60 days after they find out about the dismissal if that is later. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The employer must provide the written statement within 14 days after such a request. If the employer fails to provide this written statement, the employee may consequently be able to raise a grievance long after the required 90-day limitation period. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The employer does not have to provide a written statement of the reasons for dismissal if an employee is on a trial period and is given notice of dismissal during the trial period.

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Redundancy
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">This happens when: <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-left: 21pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> · a position filled by an employee is no longer needed, or <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-left: 21pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> · the employer has made a genuine decision for commercial reasons to discontinue employment. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">An employer must have a genuine work-related reason for a redundancy. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Eg: · <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">cutting staff numbers to increase business efficiency
 * restructuring business operations, including a change in the organisation’s roles or location
 * closure of the business
 * outsourcing

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Compensation
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Generally, there is no right to redundancy compensation unless employers and employees and/or their union have agreed to it. It is also up to the parties to decide what any redundancy compensation should be.

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Challenging redundancy
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Employees may be able to raise a personal grievance if they believe their employer has acted unjustifiably in the event of a redundancy. If the grievance is not resolved by the parties themselves or by mediation the Employment Relations Authority or the Employment Court may look at a case individually, including whether: <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-left: 21pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> · the redundancy was for genuine commercial reasons <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-left: 21pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> · the provisions of the relevant employment agreements have been observed <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9pt; margin-left: 21pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9pt; text-indent: -18pt;"> · the employer has acted reasonably and fairly in the way the redundancy was carried out. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">The employer cannot use redundancy as a way of dismissing someone for reasons relating to the employee personally (such as the employee's performance).

<span style="color: #660099; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remedies
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">If an employer is found to have acted unjustifiably in a redundancy, the Employment Relations Authority or the Employment Court may decide on one or more of the remedies for personal grievances. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">You can find more information regarding termination of employment agreements on, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">[|http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">[]
 * //<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Where can you find more information? //**

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Reference <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Department of labour. (2009). Employment agreements. Retrieved from []

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Student name : Harini Suraweera