When an employee feels personally aggrieved by a work situation in which they believe they have been treated unfairly, they may find relief under personal workplace grievance laws. Cover any complaint against an employee, including unfair or unfair 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 Wrongful Termination under New Zealand law.
Layoffs are taking place on a daily basis, and not all of them follow the correct and established legal procedure. In New Zealand, the Employment Relations Act 2000 provides all those who feel they have a personal tort 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 are associated with unfair dismissal, which can be both financially and emotionally draining for those who suffer such hardships.
However, the legal process for bringing an action against unfair dismissal is complex with specific procedures that must be followed to file a legitimate complaint. For these reasons, it is essential that professional knowledge and experience be obtained in the form of employment law specialists, who have a great deal of experience in handling cases involving personal grievances. Specialized employment lawyers will inform you about 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 extremely important to be aware of the ninety-day limit that personal complaints can 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 lose 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 their reaction was, if there were any allegations, and what the employer’s actions were. Also, any documents associated with the personal complaint, such as disciplinary notices and event-related letters. On completion of this, professional advice should be sought from an experienced law firm specializing in employment law. There are numerous procedural laws that must be followed in registering a personal complaint and without proper legal advice, even the most obvious complaint cases may not be prosecutable.