Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Employees whose behaviour amounts to serious misconduct will soon no longer be able to claim money from their former employer.
It is one of several changes Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden has announced to the personal grievance process, which allows employees to dispute discrimination or claim unjustified dismissal.
"Personal grievance settings have tilted too far in favour of employees and are creating additional costs for employers," she said.
The changes include:
- No payouts for employees whose behaviour amounts to serious misconduct
- For a claim of hurt or humiliation, an employee whose behaviour contributed to the problem will no longer be eligible for reinstatement and compensation
- Where an employee contributed to the situation that led to the personal grievance, payouts can be reduced by up to 100 percent
- The Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court will be required to consider if the worker's behaviour obstructed the employer's ability to meet their obligations
- Increasing the threshold for procedural error in cases where the employer's actions against the employee are considered fair
Serious misconduct includes violence, bullying, harassment, theft or fraud, endangering oneself or others, using illegal drugs at work, or dishonesty.
Van Velden said it was obvious some employees were trying their luck with the system in hopes of getting a payout, and said it was one of the biggest concerns raised with her by employers.
She said in one case a truck driver was dismissed for falsifying timesheet information which would put both employee and employer at risk of a fine, but received $10,500 in compensation and 13 weeks of lost wages. In another case a restaurant worker was fired for stealing food, but received $21,000 in compensation for hurt and humiliation.
"We're not setting, I think, the correct culture in New Zealand - where we're rewarding poor employee behaviour and we've got workers looking on at that wondering why they're doing the right thing if people are being paid out for doing the wrong thing."
She said the average amount awarded had nearly tripled since 2014, but the amount that could be reduced by if the employee contributed to the grievance had shrunk. A 2016 Employment Court case also set a 50 percent ceiling on remedy reductions.
She denied it could prevent workers receiving a payout in cases where both parties were at fault.
"Not at all ... when people are taking a claim, the Employment Relations Authority members will be looking at the facts of each case and weighing up who contributed to the behaviour, whether it's the employee at fault or the employer or a mix of both.
"What we're making clear as a government is that where someone has been violent in the workplace, or that they have put themselves and others in danger, there should be no remedies available.
"Where someone has contributed to the behaviour by for example continuously being late at work - and unproductive when they've been there - that there should be fewer remedies available for hurt and humiliation than there currently are."
Van Velden announced the changes at MJH Engineering in Lower Hutt, a company which constructs steel building frames and won the health, safety and wellbeing innovation category at this year's Wellington Regional Business Excellence Awards.
Its owner Malcolm Hammond has been running the business for 42 years and never had an employee take a personal grievance against the company, and said the changes seemed like a step in the right direction.
"We've had to performance manage and that sort of thing, and it was getting harder and harder - especially with stress and things like that," he said.
"I think it's good, I think there's some challenges out there where grievances are brought where there's no substantiation and it's seen as a bit of a chase on dollars.
"I think it will help, yeah. It'll be interesting to see how it works out in a granular way ... this is an overall statement and I guess there's a lot of law stuff in behind it that's going to get fleshed out."
The legislation will be introduced to Parliament in 2025, alongside changes van Velden announced last week which will ensure workers earning over $180,000 a year will lose the ability to claim unjustified dismissal.
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