No contract, cash payments, and a 'bugger off' comment proved costly for this employer
A New Zealand worker who openly admitted defrauding the welfare system just won nearly $24,000 in a dismissal case that should worry any employer relying on handshake deals.
Mark Beveridge worked three weeks at a country pub before everything fell apart. The Employment Relations Authority ruled on January 29, 2026, that he was unjustifiably dismissed and awarded him $23,770, despite circumstances that would make most employers assume they had the upper hand.
Here's what happened. Beveridge was collecting a sickness benefit that allowed him to work just 10 hours weekly. Instead, he was pulling 30 to 40 hours at the Ashurst Deer N Duck Inn, owned by PVB Investments Limited. His boss, Percy Burlace, knew about the arrangement and paid Beveridge in cash. No employment contract. No wage records. Nothing on paper.
The two men had known each other for 15 years. Burlace had previously employed Beveridge as a farm manager and had even provided him housing at various times. When Burlace needed someone to set up and run the kitchen at his newly purchased inn in August 2023, he offered Beveridge the job.
The relationship imploded on September 3, 2023. Police called Burlace about marijuana plants on a farm property he owned where both men lived. Officers found and removed 12 plants from a locked shed near Beveridge's dwelling. Beveridge was never charged.
Three days later, when Beveridge showed up at...
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