ERA rulings show how employee conduct can slash personal grievance remedies
One of the most significant recent employment law reforms gave greater scope to reduce an employee's remedies where the employee has caused or contributed to the situation giving rise to a personal grievance. This article looks at some recent reductions in remedies.
Since 21 February 2026, section 124 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 has allowed remedies for a personal grievance to be reduced by up to 100% where the actions of the employee contributed towards the situation that gave rise to the personal grievance.
This means that in appropriate cases an employee may succeed in establishing an unjustifiable dismissal or disadvantage, yet receive no remedies at all.
Recent Employment Relations Authority decisions provide an early indication of how the new provision will be applied in practice. While each case turns on its own facts (and these cases were decided under the pre-amendment provisions), the emerging theme is that the Authority is prepared to take a robust approach where employee misconduct or other blameworthy conduct has contributed to the circumstances that led to the grievance.
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