Employment dispute in Christchurch where a business faced consequences for dismissing an employee before their start date, resulting in an $18.5K payout.
Published 9 May 2023 | 3 min read
Know your rights - reasons employees can bring up a personal grievance in New Zealand
As an employer, you know that managing employees is not always easy. However, dealing with a personal grievance claim from an employee can be especially difficult, not to mention costly. It is crucial to understand your employees' rights to prevent grievances from arising in the first place.
Failing to know the rights of employees can result in the worst-case scenario – a personal grievance claim. This can impact your organisation in many ways, such as damaging your reputation, disrupting work, and costing time and money.
While personal grievances can be challenging to navigate, it's worth understanding your employees' rights. By being aware of the reasons an employee can bring up a personal grievance, you can prevent disputes from happening, save your organisation money, and protect your reputation.
With that in mind, here are the reasons for which a New Zealand employee can raise a personal grievance:
1) Unjustified Dismissal
An employee can file a personal grievance if they believe that they were unfairly dismissed from their job. This can happen when the employer terminates the employment without a valid reason or fails to follow the proper procedures for dismissal.
2) Unjustifiable Action by the Employer
If an employee believes that their employment, or one or more conditions of their employment, have been affected to their disadvantage by some unjustifiable action by the employer, they can file a personal grievance. This includes actions such as demotion, reduction in pay or hours, changes to employment conditions without consultation or failure to address bullying complaints.
3) Discrimination
If an employee believes that they have been discriminated against for reasons such as based on their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or any other personal characteristic, they can file a personal grievance.
4) Sexual Harassment
If an employee has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, they can file a personal grievance. This includes unwanted advances, comments, or physical contact that is of a sexual nature and makes the employee feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
5) Family Violence
If an employee is treated adversely in their employment on the ground that they are, or are suspected or assumed or believed to be, a person affected by family violence, they can file a personal grievance.
6) Racial Harassment
If an employee has experienced racial harassment in the workplace, they can file a personal grievance. This includes any offensive or derogatory comments or actions that are directed towards a person's race or ethnicity.
7) Duress
If an employee is subjected to duress in relation to their membership or non-membership of a union or employees organization, they can file a personal grievance.
8) Failure to Comply with Part 6A
If an employer fails to comply with the requirements of Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act, which refers to particular protections for employees regarding restructures, an employee can file a personal grievance.
9) Employment Agreement Not in Accordance with the Law
If an employee's employment agreement is not in accordance with the law, they can file a personal grievance. This includes situations where the agreement fails to meet the minimum standards in relation to agreed hours of work, availability, cancellation of shifts or secondary employment provisions.
10) Contravention of Sections 67F or 67G(3)
If an employer treats an employee adversely due to their refusal to perform work or fails to provide an employee reasonable notice or compensation when cancelling a shift, an employee can file a personal grievance.
11) Adverse Conduct for Prohibited Health and Safety Reasons
If an employer engages in adverse conduct for a prohibited health and safety reason or contravenes section 92 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (which prohibits coercion or inducement), an employee can file a personal grievance.
12) Retaliation for Making a Protected Disclosure
If an employer retaliates or threatens to retaliate against an employee in breach of section 21 of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 because the employee intends to make or has made a protected disclosure, the employee can file a personal grievance.
Ignorance of your employees' rights can lead to personal grievance claims, causing tension between your employees and the organisation. However, if you learn about the reasons employees can raise a personal grievance claim, you can prevent disputes from happening in the first place. This can lead to a positive future with a harmonious workplace, satisfied employees, and a better reputation.
The best way to avoid personal grievances is to ensure that your organisation complies with employment laws and creates a positive work environment. Ensure that your organisation has clear policies in place for employee treatment, including preventing harassment and discrimination. Create an open-door policy to ensure that employees can voice their concerns and grievances, and provide a clear and fair process for resolving disputes.