ERA found absolutely no process behind two warnings before worker resigned
A New Zealand barber who resigned after two unjustified warnings and a dismissive text from his manager has been awarded more than $26,000 by the Employment Relations Authority.
In a determination released on 23 April 2026, the Authority found that Professional Stylish Barber Shop Limited constructively dismissed Adarsh Chand, a full-time barber who began working at the shop on 12 December 2022.
Chand's case turned on a sequence of events that will feel uncomfortably familiar to anyone who has watched a workplace relationship unravel through bad process and worse communication.
He claimed that in his first week he worked 55 hours rather than the 40 set out in his employment agreement, and said the figure rose to 58.5 hours once unpaid breaks were factored in. He also alleged he was threatened with deportation after complaining about his hours, threatened with physical harm in April 2023 after a trip to Fiji, and accused by the company's director, Pravin Kumar, of taking drugs and keeping them at home in March 2023. The Authority did not make explicit findings on these background allegations, and Chand's separate claims for unpaid wages, sick leave breaches and inadequate wage and time records were not made out, with the Authority accepting the accuracy of the company's records.
What did stick was the disciplinary process, or rather the absence of one.
On 13 February 2024, Chand received a written...
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