A recent decision by New Zealand’s Employment Court regarding an airline and its cabin crew creates broader implications for all employers with part-time workers in New Zealand. In E Tū Incorporated v Mount Cook Airline Limited, the Employment Court held that part-time employees paid on a fortnightly basis (for every 14 days of work) must be paid the full fortnight rate regardless of the number of hours they work. The Court, however, held that the cabin crew’s overnight stopovers were not “work” and thus the employer did not need to pay the cabin crew for that time. New Zealand employers with employees with stopovers, overnight stays, or similar activities should continue reading for further details on three steps you should take to make sure your business is in compliance.
Employment Dispute Over Working Hours
The dispute involved Mount Cook Airline and the E Tū union representing Mount Cook’s cabin crew staff. Mount Cook employs both a full-time and part-time cabin crew. The full-time cabin crew was scheduled to work nine days within each fortnight. The part-time crew was scheduled to work six days within each fortnight and works on average seven hours per day. Due to flight schedules, the crew sometimes finished work for the day away from home. When they did so, they were required to stay overnight and start the next working day from the away location.
Per the collective agreement, Mount Cook paid its part-time cabin crew a salary that is two-thirds of the full-time...
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