Grieving about personal grievances

Kate Wilkinson, Minister of Labour, has announced a review of the part of the Employment Relations Act which deals with personal grievances. It's a root and branch review with the intention of examining, amongst other things, whether the system strikes a fair balance between employers and employees, imposes unnecessary costs or obligations on employers and employees, and is efficient and effective.

Any business which has had to deal with a personal grievance should log on to the DoL's website (at http://www.dol.govt.nz/consultation/personal-grievance) and give their views. This is a rare opportunity to have a say and you only have until 31 March to do so.

For my two pennies worth, it may be trite to say it but prevention is better than cure. If employers had access to better guidance from the DoL about how to hire the right people and then manage them effectively, most personal grievances would never arise, and the business would benefit in a host of other ways into the bargain.

Oh, and another thing. In the UK there is a system where representatives personally face wasted costs orders as a result of any "improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission". This applies to any representative, not just lawyers, except those not acting for profit. I suspect that a similar threat in New Zealand would help rein in the representatives who encourage their clients to pursue hopeless claims against their employers just to force the payment of a sum of money to make the problem go away.

If you are an employer who would like to participate in the consultation, and would also like to hear the views of other employers in Canterbury, why not come to the Think Tank discussion meeting at GTR's offices at 96 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch on Monday 22 March between 12.30 and 2pm. Just email david.appleton@gtrlaw.co.nz to let us know you're coming. We'll collate all the views expressed at the meeting and submit them to the Department of Labour on your behalf, on a no names basis.