32AEmployees absent on jury service not to be prejudiced

1. An employer commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 if the employer does either of the following actions because an employee of the employer is required to be absent from employment on jury service:

2. dismisses, or threatens to dismiss, the employee without the consent of the employee:
3. otherwise prejudices the position of the employee without the consent of the employee.

4. If an employer is alleged to have committed, or is convicted of, an offence against subsection (1) in respect of an action and an employee, then that employee,—

5. if that action consists of or includes dismissal, may have a personal grievance, for the purposes of section 103(1)(a) of the Employment Relations Act 2000, because of an unjustifiable dismissal, and Part 9 of that Act applies accordingly; and
6. if that action consists of an action other than dismissal or includes an action in addition to dismissal, may have a personal grievance, for the purposes of section 103(1)(b) of the Employment Relations Act 2000, because of an action described in that paragraph, and Part 9 of that Act applies accordingly.

7. In this section,—

   employee has the meaning given in section 6 of the Employment Relations Act 2000

   otherwise prejudicing the position of the employee—

   1. means doing some act (other than dismissing, or threatening to dismiss, the employee) that affects either or both of the following to the employee’s disadvantage:
      1. the employee’s employment:
      2. 1 or more conditions of the employee’s employment; but
   2. does not include not paying the employee remuneration of any kind for the period the employee is required to be absent from employment on jury service.