When Should I Seek Assistance?
Usually, the longer a problem is left, the larger it gets!
For this reason, the Employment Relations Act provides ready access to assistance at any stage in the employment relationship and requires people to work together in good faith. Get help as soon as you feel out of your depth. You may wish to seek assistance from your union or employers’ organisation. (See Appendix A).
Alternatively, the Department of Labour can often assist by giving you basic legal information and helping you consider how this applies to your situation. You can ask questions anonymously if you wish.
How Do I Contact The Department Of Labour?
Department of Labour Workplace Contact Centre 0800 20 90 20 Or www.dol.govt.nz
Information Officers at the Department of Labour Workplace Contact Centre are experienced in helping with day-to-day problems in workplaces. They can also help interpret the minimum legal employment conditions. In most cases, information officers can give you information to help you deal with your problem yourself by providing facts and commonsense suggestions.
If your question requires more assistance, information officers can help you to decide how to deal with the problem. They may refer you to other services established under the Employment Relations Act, or may provide information on other government agencies such as the Human Rights Commission or other parts of the Department of Labour.
The service is free, and your call is always confidential.
CASE STUDY: A new employee settles in
Jim is the new manager of a medium sized manufacturing business which employs 28 people. Before that he was an employee in a large company with a human resource manager.
Jim has hired Fred, an 18-year-old school leaver, as a process worker. If the first three months’ trial goes well he will get an apprenticeship. Fred is constantly late, makes mistakes, and is cheeky to other workers in the factory, disrupting business and work relationships.
Jim decides to terminate Fred’s employment, but he knows there are requirements under the Employment Relations Act regarding trial periods, so he phones Workplace Contact Centre 0800 20 90 20 for assistance.
The Information Officer explains to Jim that there is a proper process for establishing a trial employment period, which would require that the concerns Jim has be discussed with Fred. They suggest that he downloads the fact sheets on individual employment agreements and managing employment relations problems from their website, and that he calls back if he feels mediation might be of assistance.
Jim considers the information and calls back explaining that he wants to keep Fred as an Employee but only if he changes his behaviour so he plans to give Fred a formal warning. After some discussion Jim decides that it would be good to speak to someone who sets up mediations to get more information about the process. The information officer refers Jim’s matter to the Department of Labour’s mediation services. The Workplace Coordinator talks Jim through the mediation process and makes Jim aware that mediation is a good process for discussing employment relationship problems. However if Jim is considering disciplinary action such as a formal warning there is a proper formal process that would need to be followed and this could not be done in mediation.
A mediation meeting is scheduled and Fred brings his uncle to the meeting. It becomes clear that Fred wants to be successful in the job, but the work experience has been as unsatisfactory for him as it has for the company. Fred has been copying the banter of older employees without realising their negative reaction to his behaviour, doesn’t know where to get assistance, and is discouraged because things are going wrong.
Jim gives Fred a clear job description and some goals to work towards, arranges weekly meetings to review his progress, and asks another worker to keep an eye on him. They arrange another meeting with Fred’s uncle to review progress in a month’s time. Fred’s uncle agrees to drop him off at work each day and discuss how the previous day has gone.
Fred’s performance and his relationship with other workers improve, and he gets his apprenticeship. Without help, both Jim and Fred would have paid for their poor communication. Jim may have faced the costs of a personal grievance, and the cost of replacing Fred. Fred may have lost his job and a chance to get a qualification, despite getting a modest settlement.
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This page was last updated on:
04-May-2009
and is current.
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