He scored top marks in August. By December, he was sleeping in his car
A helicopter tourism company's attempt to pass off a firing as redundancy has backfired - to the tune of $16,000.
New Zealand's Employment Relations Authority found The Helicopter Line Limited unjustifiably dismissed a cafe assistant at its remote Glentanner operation, near Mount Cook in the South Island. The determination, issued on October 9, 2026, ordered the company to pay $16,000 in compensation plus $1,740 in gross wage arrears and interest.
The worker had been employed for about eight months at the small cafe, which sat within the company's broader tourist flight operation. The role came with staff accommodation - a significant perk given the remote location.
Things went well at first. In an August 2024 performance review, the worker received top credits across all performance indicators. He requested a pay rise for his responsibilities, leadership, and showing people "the ropes" - and got one, a $2.00 per hour increase, bringing his rate to $29.00 gross per hour.
Around the same time, the company decided not to replace the departing cafe manager, instead handing oversight of the cafe to a manager whose primary role was on the flying side of the business. The company's sole director had identified that the cafe was running at a loss and wanted to shift from a cooked-to-order menu to a self-serve cabinet food and coffee model.
Through meetings in October and November 2024 - including an October 21...
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