When an employee feels personally aggrieved by a work situation in which they believe they have been treated unfairly, they may find relief under the laws that regulate personal grievances in the workplace. Cover any complaint against an employee, including wrongful or unjustified termination, harassment, discrimination, coercion or unfair treatment; If an employee has not followed legal procedures or has a bona fide reason for termination under the current employment contract and law, then they may be covered by the legal protection afforded by personal grievances (PG) and unfair dismissal under New Zealand law.
Layoffs are taking place on a daily basis, and not all of them follow the correct and legal established procedure. In New Zealand, the Industrial Relations Act 2000 provides for all those who feel they have a personal injury case within the workplace to pursue a legal course of action, as set out in the Act. Many of the PG cases in New Zealand they relate to unjustified dismissals, which can be both financially and emotionally draining for those experiencing such difficulties.
However, the legal process is complex to bring an action against unfair dismissal with specific procedures that must be followed to make a legitimate complaint. For these reasons, it is essential that professional knowledge and experience be gained through employment law specialists, who have extensive experience handling cases involving personal torts. Specialist labor lawyers will inform you of the correct procedures to try to resolve the personal grievance between you and the employee; as well as legal advice to promote such grievances if required.
The first stage of the process is to communicate the PG to your employer. It is of the utmost importance to be aware of the ninety-day limit in which personal complaints may be actionable. If an employer is not informed of the grievance within ninety days of its occurrence, the employer has no legal responsibility to acknowledge or remedy the situation; as well as losing the right to continue acting before the Labor Relations Authority.
It is important that the complaint be in writing; this creates a formal record and basis for the complaint. This letter must document the personal complaint itself; such as when it started, what happened, who was involved, what was their reaction, were there any accusations, and what were the employer’s actions. Also, any documents associated with the personal complaint, such as disciplinary notices and letters related to the event. Once this is completed, professional advice from an experienced law firm specializing in employment law should be sought. There are numerous procedural laws that must be followed to register a personal complaint and without proper legal advice, even the most obvious complaint cases may not be actionable.