New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Holiday pay

Legal area

Court

26 Oct 2021

METROPOLITAN GLASS & GLAZING LIMITED v LABOUR INSPECTOR, MINISTRY OF BUSINESS AND INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT [2021] NZCA 560

Citation

[2021] NZCA 560
Court

Court of Appeal

The critical dividing line is whether the employer is contractually bound to make the payment; payments are "gross earnings" only when the employer has a contractual obligation to pay them, regardless of where the obligation is recorded; because Metropolitan's STIB schemes retained an express residual discretion not to pay even if conditions were met those payments were discretionary for Holidays Act purposes and not gross earnings.
9 Nov 2020

WAIKATO TOPSOIL CO LTD v ADOLPH [2020] NZHC 2949

Citation

[2020] NZHC 2949
Court

High Court

There was a genuine and substantial dispute as to the debt and the matters fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Employment Relations Authority under s161 ERA; accordingly the statutory demand under Companies Act s290 was set aside and costs were awarded to the applicant with a 25% uplift on a 2B scale plus disbursements.
12 Aug 2020

HONG v CHEVRON TRAFFIC SERVICES LIMITED [2020] NZCA 339

Citation

[2020] NZCA 339
Court

Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal was declined because there was no question of law of sufficient general or public importance: the Employment Court's finding that summary dismissal was justified was supported by overwhelming evidence and a proper investigation, the disputed employment/hours and holiday payment issues were resolved by the Authority and any errors were unintentional and remedied, and the Employment Court's jurisdictional error on good faith was harmless given the evidence that no breach occurred.
12 Dec 2018

Tuki and Harrison v Accident Compensation Corporation (Abatement Clause)

Citation

[2018] NZACC 194
Court

District Court

The collective and winter processing arrangements established discontinuous seasonal employment that terminated at season end on 3 July 2015; holiday pay was therefore a payment on termination and under cl 49(3) Schedule 1 must be treated as post-termination earnings for a corresponding period, justifying abatement of weekly compensation until the holiday pay period expired.
28 Sept 2016

PETER REYNOLDS MECHANICAL LTD TRADING AS THE ITALIAN JOB SERVICE CENTRE v JAMES DENYER, LABOUR INSPECTOR [2016] NZCA 464

Citation

[2016] NZCA 464
Court

Court of Appeal

The Employment Court (and thus Court of Appeal on review) has jurisdiction under the plain wording of s140(6) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 to impose a fine for non-compliance with a compliance order even where the underlying order is monetary; however the s140(6) powers are remedial and punitive and must be exercised sparingly and proportionately with primary focus on securing compliance and considering culpability, duration of default, remedial steps taken, financial circumstances and deterrence - on the facts the $5,500 fine was manifestly excessive and was reduced to $750.
15 Jun 2016

BRILL v LABOUR INSPECTOR (MELISSA ANN MACRURY) [2016] NZCA 262

Citation

[2016] NZCA 262
Court

Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal was granted on the specific statutory question under s 234(2) because the appeal raises an important and arguable issue; an extension of time was granted because, although the delay was insufficiently explained, it was not so extensive as to justify refusal in the circumstances.
22 Jun 2015

Roberts v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2015] NZACC 156
Court

District Court

The 7 November 2012 letter from the accredited employer was not a 'Corporation's decision' under the Accident Compensation Act because it concerned holiday/annual leave payments governed by employment law and the Holidays Act, not ACC entitlements; the accredited employer's action was not taken under the accreditation agreement in a manner that would deem it a Corporation decision, so the reviewer correctly declined jurisdiction and correctly refused costs.
15 Mar 2006

Sim v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2006] NZACC 62
Court

District Court

Holiday pay paid on termination under s13 of the Holidays Act 1981 is treated as post-termination earnings for the purposes of Clause 49(3) and Clause 51 of Schedule 1 to the IPARC Act and therefore cannot be included in the 52-week pre-incapacity earnings under Clause 34; respondent correctly excluded $2,124.25 from the calculation of weekly compensation.
25 Nov 2004

Wild v Accident Compensation Corporation

Citation

[2004] NZACC 371
Court

District Court

Holiday pay received on termination is a payment "on or in respect of the termination of employment" under clause 23(6) and, for the purposes of clause 24(1), may be treated by the insurer as earnings derived during the period of incapacity by apportioning it over an appropriate weekly rate; accordingly ACC correctly abated the appellant's weekly compensation.
2 Apr 1997

Priest v Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation

Citation

[1997] NZACC 43
Court

District Court

Holiday pay received after termination falls within s.47(2) and must be deemed to have been derived at the same rate as the last wages earned prior to incapacity, therefore it is properly included in the abatement calculation and the respondent correctly applied s.47.