{"id":19979,"date":"2024-09-11T21:40:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T21:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=19979"},"modified":"2025-09-23T03:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T03:13:10","slug":"pitfalls-of-not-following-a-fair-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/pitfalls-of-not-following-a-fair-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitfalls of Not Following A Fair Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"19979\" class=\"elementor elementor-19979\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc7aec5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"dc7aec5\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19928ea elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"19928ea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Pitfalls Of Not Following A Fair Process<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbed59d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cbed59d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In today\u2019s climate more and more companies are having to make hard decisions about their business and inevitably there will a conversation about if redundancies should be made.<\/p><p>Therefore, it is critical that you get advise before doing anything, then follow a well-defined process that avoids any legal pitfalls, that minimises the risk to your reputation, and maintains employee trust. The <em>E T\u016b Incorporated v Television New Zealand Ltd<\/em> case serves as a cautionary tale for organizations navigating similar changes.<\/p><p>In this case, TVNZ undertook a significant restructuring, which included eliminating 68 roles. However, the company failed to adequately consult with its employees as required under their collective agreement. Although they had a collective agreement the principles are still the same for Individual employment agreements.<\/p><p>Consultation is key. Effective communication and genuine consultation are not just legal requirements\u2014they are crucial for maintaining morale and reducing resistance during a period of change.<\/p><p>While TVNZ provided the minimal legal notice and allowed a feedback period, the court ruled that these actions were insufficient. The key issue was that TVNZ did not involve staff in the early stages of decision-making, which their agreement required.<\/p><p>Organizations must go beyond simply announcing decisions and provide opportunities for employees to contribute meaningfully to the process. This includes involving staff from the developmental stages of decision-making, as failing to do so could lead to costly legal battles, as seen in TVNZ\u2019s case.<\/p><p>Moreover, businesses need to recognize that simply meeting the minimum legal standards may not always be sufficient. Genuine engagement can prevent the perception that decisions are pre-determined, fostering a collaborative environment that can generate alternative solutions, reduce the need for redundancies, or at least soften the blow to staff.<\/p><p>The TVNZ case reinforces the importance of proactive, transparent communication during any restructuring effort. When done correctly, it can help businesses mitigate risks and maintain a productive workforce, even in challenging time.<\/p><p>So if you are thinking about making changes get advice from Network HR.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In today\u2019s climate more and more companies are having to make hard decisions about their business and inevitably there will a conversation about if redundancies should be made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19979"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19983,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19979\/revisions\/19983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}