Latest news with #employmentdispute
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Wellington Live owner Graham Bloxham told to pay former worker almost $30k
Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham ordered to pay former worker $28,294. Photo: Supplied In Your Pocket Media, which operates the Wellington Live Facebook page, has been told to pay a former employee almost $30,000. Joseph Parr took the company to the Employment Relations Authority, complaining that he was constructively dismissed, unjustifiably disadvantaged and had wages owing to him. In Your Pocket Media was founded by Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham, who is the current director and shareholder. The company bought the Facebook page Wellington live in 2021. Parr was employed as head of digital marketing. He said Bloxham was a family friend who approached him. It was his first proper job in a media field. He started work on $30 an hour but was told that would increase to $32 in about May 2022. But he said he did not receive that increase; he was not given pay slips during his employment and his wages were not paid regularly. He said he was also subjected to humiliating treatment including jokes by Bloxham about his appearance. Parr said it was a toxic work environment and Bloxham's actions were not in line with what Parr believed the Wellington Live page was about. Parr told the Employment Relations Authority that he and some of his colleagues discovered their taxes appeared not to have been filed with Inland Revenue, even though the money had been deducted from their wages. When he raised this with Bloxham, he was told that it could be the case that the company was paying PAYE annually. Parr said this was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and resigned. Bloxham told Parr and another employee they were in breach of their agreement because they had shared information about the company and their own personal situations with IRD with each other. Parr went on to raise a personal grievance. Bloxham responded saying that Parr had abandoned his employment. Authority member Davinnia Tan said Parr gave evidence that Bloxham and his company's actions had caused him significant anxiety. He was also worried about his future employment prospects. Tan said the authority had been told the company would not participate in mediation, despite being directed to do so. It did not appear at a case management conference or an investigation meeting. Tan said the responses by Bloxham to Parr's concerns about the non-payment of PAYE were not of the calibre of a responsible or honest employer with oversight or who had made an inadvertent error. "These deductions were made on every wage payment for almost 45 weeks' of Mr Parr's employment with Pocket Media with no evidence of payment to the IRD of Mr Parr's PAYE taxes. "On the evidence available to the authority, the failure to pay the IRD from deductions made to Mr Parr's gross pay were deliberate. "There is no ambiguity that this constituted a breach of Pocket Media's duty of good faith as required under s 4 of the Act, which extend beyond obligations of trust and confidence. The financial mismanagement was deliberate and deceitful, which Pocket Media benefited from at the expense of Mr Parr." Parr's claim of unjustified constructive dismissal was successful. Tan said $5670 should have been paid as PAYE to Inland Revenue, but that had to be dealt with by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. She said a copy of the determination would be sent to the department. She said the jobs that Parr took after leaving did not pay well. "During this time, he had to give up his flat due to an inability to continue rent payments and had to live with family. "In a desperate effort to ensure he was not completely reliant on family for his livelihood, he accepted any role that he was successful in attaining quickly so there was incoming money. "IRD records show that he earned a total of $7305.13 over the next three months. "The harm caused by Pocket Media in these circumstances has been significant on Mr Parr. "Having assessed Mr Parr's credibility and manner, the level of dejection and humiliation he felt from how his employment with Pocket Media ended was obvious." Tan said compensation of $20,000 was appropriate. He was also due $8294.87 in lost wages. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Wellington Live owner told to pay former worker almost $30k
Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham ordered to pay former worker $28,294. Photo: Supplied In Your Pocket Media, which operates the Wellington Live Facebook page, has been told to pay a former employee almost $30,000. Joseph Parr took the company to the Employment Relations Authority, complaining that he was constructively dismissed, unjustifiably disadvantaged and had wages owing to him. In Your Pocket Media was founded by Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham, who is the current director and shareholder. The company bought the Facebook page Wellington live in 2021. Parr was employed as head of digital marketing. He said Bloxham was a family friend who approached him. It was his first proper job in a media field. He started work on $30 an hour but was told that would increase to $32 in about May 2022. But he said he did not receive that increase; he was not given pay slips during his employment and his wages were not paid regularly. He said he was also subjected to humiliating treatment including jokes by Bloxham about his appearance. Parr said it was a toxic work environment and Bloxham's actions were not in line with what Parr believed the Wellington Live page was about. Parr told the Employment Relations Authority that he and some of his colleagues discovered their taxes appeared not to have been filed with Inland Revenue, even though the money had been deducted from their wages. When he raised this with Bloxham, he was told that it could be the case that the company was paying PAYE annually. Parr said this was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and resigned. Bloxham told Parr and another employee they were in breach of their agreement because they had shared information about the company and their own personal situations with IRD with each other. Parr went on to raise a personal grievance. Bloxham responded saying that Parr had abandoned his employment. Authority member Davinnia Tan said Parr gave evidence that Bloxham and his company's actions had caused him significant anxiety. He was also worried about his future employment prospects. Tan said the authority had been told the company would not participate in mediation, despite being directed to do so. It did not appear at a case management conference or an investigation meeting. Tan said the responses by Bloxham to Parr's concerns about the non-payment of PAYE were not of the calibre of a responsible or honest employer with oversight or who had made an inadvertent error. "These deductions were made on every wage payment for almost 45 weeks' of Mr Parr's employment with Pocket Media with no evidence of payment to the IRD of Mr Parr's PAYE taxes. "On the evidence available to the authority, the failure to pay the IRD from deductions made to Mr Parr's gross pay were deliberate. "There is no ambiguity that this constituted a breach of Pocket Media's duty of good faith as required under s 4 of the Act, which extend beyond obligations of trust and confidence. The financial mismanagement was deliberate and deceitful, which Pocket Media benefited from at the expense of Mr Parr." Parr's claim of unjustified constructive dismissal was successful. Tan said $5670 should have been paid as PAYE to Inland Revenue, but that had to be dealt with by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. She said a copy of the determination would be sent to the department. She said the jobs that Parr took after leaving did not pay well. "During this time, he had to give up his flat due to an inability to continue rent payments and had to live with family. "In a desperate effort to ensure he was not completely reliant on family for his livelihood, he accepted any role that he was successful in attaining quickly so there was incoming money. "IRD records show that he earned a total of $7305.13 over the next three months. "The harm caused by Pocket Media in these circumstances has been significant on Mr Parr. "Having assessed Mr Parr's credibility and manner, the level of dejection and humiliation he felt from how his employment with Pocket Media ended was obvious." Tan said compensation of $20,000 was appropriate. He was also due $8294.87 in lost wages. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Former IRD employee loses ERA claim following comments about free period products
A former Inland Revenue employee has lost her bid to claim unjustified disadvantage over free period products in the work bathroom. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller A former Inland Revenue employee has lost her bid to claim unjustified disadvantage and constructive dismissal after making comments other workers found offensive. Christine Massof had worked for the department for 14 years. She was reprimanded after she made a comment on the intranet in response to news that the department would be providing period products in both male and female bathrooms. She posted: "This is awesome but a shame it took so long coming. And interesting, now that men can menstruate, free period products are available in IR bathrooms." Massof's manager, Leah Galbraith, became aware when the comment was reported to her by IR's rainbow network, which said some people were offended and upset. Galbraith met Massof to discuss the comments and set expectations for the future. She said it was not the first discussion of this type she had had with Massof about her need to be aware of the impact her comments could have on her colleagues. Massof denied that and said earlier incidents were different. Galbraith said the meeting went smoothly but Massof said she was not given much opportunity to speak. She was then given a letter headed "expectation of behaviour" which advised her that she should exercise discretion when expressing views, particularly when they could cause offence. When staff were reorganised, Massof began reporting to a different team leader. But she said the meeting with Galbraith had left her upset and anxious. She said after she returned from sick leave she was vulnerable and had been ostracised. She filed a statement of problem with the Employment Relations Authority saying she had been unjustifiably disadvantaged in her employment and Inland Revenue had not acted in good faith. She then resigned. Several months later, she raised a claim of unjustifiable constructive dismissal. She said the letter had disadvantaged her because it was disciplinary in nature, she did not have the opportunity for a support person, it affected her prospects for promotion, it silenced her and that Inland Revenue had imposed a bathroom policy on her without consultation. Authority member Claire English said the letter was not a disciplinary outcome and did not impose disciplinary consequences on Massof. "There is also nothing used in the requirements or expectations themselves to support the submission that this was a disciplinary matter. They may be described as requirements to treat colleagues respectfully in the workplace and to bear in mind that colleagues may have different views to yourself." She said Inland Revenue was entitled to set minimum standards of behaviour. "Insofar as Ms Massof complains that IR's provision of free sanitary products by IR in the bathrooms was an unjustified disadvantage, this claim cannot be made out. The provision of free product to all staff with no requirement for use or engagement by staff cannot be categorised as a disadvantage, much less an unjustified one." She said the submission that the department had a new policy of allowing staff to use bathrooms of their choice amounted to unjustified disadvantage was also not borne out by the evidence. "Ms Massof worked for IR for some 14 years. She was not able to explain when or how this policy was either implemented or changed by IR. "For a claim of constructive dismissal to succeed, the dismissal must occur at the initiative of the employer. Ms Massof's evidence is that she did not want to continue in the workplace, not due to any breach of obligation by her employer, but because she fundamentally disagreed with workplace changes over a period of many years, and no longer wished to work there as a result. This does not amount to a constructive dismissal." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Far North District Council ordered to pay former CEO Blair King $210,000
The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King, who resigned in 2023 less than a year into the role. The council's legal costs relating to King's departure case are even higher, adding up to just over $220,000. The figures were revealed to RNZ this week via a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request. They do not include other costs, such as staff time or expenses incurred recruiting King's replacement. The six-figure payout continues an unfortunate tradition at the council, where only one of the past four chief executives has left without an employment dispute and a hefty settlement. Some occurred when a new chief executive was hired, or had their contract renewed, shortly before a local election then fell foul of incoming councillors. Clive Manley, who was dismissed by then Far North Mayor Wayne Brown, received a severance payment in 2008 of $248,000. The reason for his departure was never disclosed. His successor, Dave Edmunds, who was rehired by Brown's council just four days before the 2013 council elections, went on "temporary leave" a few months after John Carter was voted in as mayor. In January 2014 it emerged Edmunds had left the council but the reason for his departure, or whether he had received a payout, were not revealed. However, the council's annual report, released in November that year, showed a severance payment of $193,846. Councillors then employed Colin Dale, the former head of Manukau City Council, as acting chief executive until a permanent replacement could be found. In 2017 the council hired ex-Air Force Group Captain Shaun Clarke. While councillors opted not to renew his contract for another two years from 2022, there was no employment dispute around Clarke's departure and no payout. King, the former head of Tararua District Council, was hired at the end of 2021 and started work in March 2022. According to an Employment Relations Authority ruling released late last year, King formally resigned in February 2023, alleging a "toxic" environment and being "ghosted" by councillors. Moko Tepania. Photo: Peter de Graaf/RNZ The authority found the relationship breakdown between King and then newly elected Mayor Moko Tepania started at a meeting in Kaikohe in November 2022, though accounts differed as to exactly what happened at that meeting. King argued he had been constructively dismissed and the council's behaviour had created a "toxic work environment", while the council filed a counter-claim alleging he had breached good faith obligations by failing to engage properly. The authority found fault on both sides, dismissing the council's counter-claim and some of King's complaints. However, the authority sided with King by finding he was subjected to "an unjustified disadvantage" during the Kaikohe meeting. The authority also found the council had failed to engage with King after a confidential follow-up meeting called to discuss his future with the organisation. The exact figure for the settlement paid to King, according to the council, is $212,750.00. The total legal costs were $220,115.21. Tepania said both parties had come to a settlement, and no further comment could be provided. The council's current chief executive Guy Holroyd, who previously headed Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust, said it was not appropriate to comment on an employment matter. King was contacted for comment but had not responded by publication time. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Barclays Ex-Trader's Gifts of NFTs Emerge in Employment Lawsuit
A former Barclays Plc trader's gift to multiple colleagues of digital art depicting Amsterdam's red-light district has emerged in an employment dispute the bank is fighting with another former trader. Ovie Faruq, a former high-yield cash and derivatives trader, left Barclays in late 2021. He gave the unsolicited gifts after leaving to former colleagues including Kamal Sandhu as well as several other senior markets executives. The nonfungible tokens are flashing red and pink digital collectibles that are part of Faruq's Red Lite District collection.
