These problems cannot be denied particularly in smaller workplaces where it is not easy to shift people around. We have therefore looked very closely at this clause, but in the end have accepted the Government's proposition that in fact, given that it uses the words 'wherever practicable' , and that reinstatement as a remedy can only be sought when the employee wants it, the situation that ensues following the introduction of this Bill will be little different from what currently applies.
The second area of broader concern relates to the relationship between the taking of personal grievance cases and the current welfare system. The 13 week stand down period which is applied by the Dept of Work and Income (formerly WINZ) to workers who have been sacked or who leave their job voluntarily is one of the most iniquitous hangovers from the period of the 1991 ECA and benefit cuts. National introduced a 26 week stand down at that time, subsequently reduced to 13 weeks but still creating a situation in which workers face a deep imbalance of power when in a difficult workplace situation. If you don't have a job to go to you basically need to know that you can support yourself and your family for 13 weeks, or face an uphill battle with DWI for emergency assistance - or turn to a life of crime.
One of the consequences of the long stand down period has been that many workers take Personal Grievances against their former employer, as that is one of the only ways in which they can become eligible for an unemployment benefit. This has meant a large number of PGs clogging up the Employment Tribunal system, and a lot of extra work for unions and unemployed and beneficiary advocacy groups.
With the introduction of the Employment Relations Act, these extra PGs will have the potential to undermine the fine intentions of the Act in relation to offering the hope of quick effective mediation at the time of employment relationship breakdown. In the interests both of workers' rights and of making the ERA work well, the Green Party asks that the Government act quickly to end the 13 week stand down requirement. If it doesn't there is a real risk that the mediation services that are being set up under this Bill will be doomed to failure as they buckle under the weight of personal grievances which on a rough estimate based on the current situation will be some 50% more than would occur should the 13 week sanction period be done away with.
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