Affco NZ Ltd v NZ Meat Workers & Related Trade Unions Inc

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

SC 131/2016
[2017] NZSC 30

BETWEEN	AFFCO NEW ZEALAND LIMITED Applicant
AND	NEW ZEALAND MEAT WORKERS AND RELATED TRADES UNION INCORPORATED First Respondent
AND	ROBERTA KEREWAI RATU AND OTHERS Second Respondents

Court:	William Young, Arnold and OʼRegan JJ
Counsel:	P R Jagose for Applicant P Cranney for Respondents
Judgment:	9 March 2017

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

ALeave to appeal is granted (AFFCO New Zealand Ltd v New Zealand Meat Workers and Related Trades Union Inc and Ors [2016] NZCA 482).

BThe approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to find that a breach of s 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 had occurred when the applicant required seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements before commencing work for the 2015/2016 season.

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS

The approved question allows for argument on the issues raised by the applicant in its leave submissions as well as the points identified by the respondents

in their leave submissions as points they will advance in support of the Court of Appeal judgment on other grounds.

Solicitors:
M A C Williams, Hamilton for the Applicant
Oakley Moran, Wellington for Respondents

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Affco New Zealand Limited, a meat processing company, sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of New Zealand against a decision of the Court of Appeal that had ruled that the company's requirement for seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements before commencing work for the 2015/2016 season constituted a breach of section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The New Zealand Meat Workers and Related Trades Union Incorporated and Roberta Kerewa Ratu and others were the respondents in the appeal. The Court of Appeal had found that the requirement for the seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements constituted a change to the terms of employment that was not authorised by section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The legal issues the Court of Appeal had to decide were whether the requirement for the seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements constituted a change to the terms of employment, and if so, whether that change was authorised by section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal was correct to find that a breach of section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 had occurred when the applicant required seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements before commencing work for the 2015/2016 season. The Court held that the requirement for the seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements constituted a change to the terms of employment, and that change was not authorised by section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The Court held that section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 permits changes to the terms of employment only where there is an agreement to that effect, and the Court found that there was no such agreement in this case. The Court held that the requirement for the seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements constituted a change to the terms of employment because it altered the nature of the employment relationship between the seasonal workers and the applicant. The Court held that the change was not authorised by section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 because there was no agreement to that effect.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and remitted the matter to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration in light of its decision. The Court of Appeal was to consider whether the requirement for the seasonal workers to enter into new individual employment agreements constituted a change to the terms of employment, and if so, whether that change was authorised by section 82 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. The Court of Appeal was to take into account the decision of the Supreme Court in reaching its decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established