Ostrich Employers

Recently we were asked to represent a man who had been dismissed. Our client had a good case. Normally an employer in that situation will respond to direct negotiations so that a deal can be done and the parties can get on with their lives.

Sometimes an employer will respond by refusing to enter into direct negotiations but agreeing to go to mediation. It is very rare in such cases that a settlement would not be reached at mediation. In this situation the employer put its head in the sand and didn’t respond at all. Presumably the employer thought that the employee would give up and go away. Bad employers like this are rare but there is a way to deal with them.

The employee needs to file a straight forward claim in the Employment Relations Authority. The ERA will serve the employer with the claim. This is usually enough to make even the most difficult employer do the right thing and respond to the claim. Once the employer responds to the claim the ERA will order that the parties attend mediation as the next step, where, usually, the case will be settled. Having to take the claim to the ERA doesn’t cost much more (about $200 for our client), however, the employer risks that the employee’s attitude will harden and that a greater settlement will be required in order to resolve the matter.

Our message to bad employers is to do the right thing when dealing with employment disputes. Otherwise, remember, that in terms of the employee’s rights, you can run but you can’t hide.