ERA finds trial period invalid after employer fails to give notice, dismisses worker by email
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ruled that a portable buildings company unjustifiably dismissed a part-time marketing consultant after relying on an invalid 90-day trial period provision to end her employment by email.
The ERA found that the employer could not rely on the trial period in the worker's employment agreement because it failed to provide the three days' notice the agreement required, and because the agreement was signed after she had already commenced work.
The company's sole director admitted during the investigation meeting that the company did not provide notice or payment in lieu, saying it must have been "overlooked" because of the unusual circumstances of her employment.
The ERA said it is "well established that deficient notice is not lawful notice," and found that this conduct invalidated the trial period provision.
The Authority also found it "more likely than not" that the employment agreement was signed at least an hour after the worker started work on her first day, rejecting the director's evidence that signing was the "first thing" she did. It dismissed, however, the applicant's submission that her paid commute from New Plymouth to Hamilton the day before constituted work.
With the trial period invalid, the dismissal was assessed against the test for justification under section 103A of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
"The dismissal was...
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