Genuine reason, botched process: how one redundancy still cost a small employer

Employment Relations Authority member Helen van Druten ruled on 12 August 2026 that a genuine redundancy still amounted to unjustified dismissal.

The case centred on a marketing employee who joined a small, predominantly online Auckland wholesaler in August 2023. She raised several personal grievances after her position was disestablished during a restructure in March 2024, including unjustified disadvantage, sexual harassment and unjustified dismissal.

The determination accepted the wholesaler's reasons for restructuring were genuine, pointing to a real drop in wholesale revenue in early 2024 that justified looking at cost savings. However, it found the process that followed fell short of what a fair and reasonable employer would do.

One director's email to staff said only that "we will be meeting with you all individually about the roles going forward," giving no further detail on timeframes or what changes to expect. The determination noted there were no meeting notes, no written proposal and no clear explanation of what "roles will change" meant for individual positions, and that staff experiences of the consultation varied considerably.

The employer accepted it never told the employee her role was at risk before the decision was made, and the determination found she was left to draw her own conclusions about what was happening to her job.

Comparing the disestablished role with the newly...

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