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111: Definitions relating to personal grievances
or “This part explains what certain words mean when talking about problems at work.”
You could also call this:

“ You can choose to complain about unfair treatment at work or to the Human Rights Commission, but not both. ”

If you have a personal grievance at work that could also be a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993, you have to choose one way to deal with it. You can either ask the Authority to solve your grievance, or you can make a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993. You can’t do both.

You make a complaint when you or the Commission start the process officially. If you choose to go to the Authority with your grievance, you can’t use any rights you might have under the Human Rights Act 1993 for the same issue. Similarly, if you make a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993, you can’t use any rights you might have under this Employment Relations Act for the same issue.

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Next up: 113: Personal grievance provisions only way to challenge dismissal

or “If you're fired and want to complain about it, you can only do it through a special process called a personal grievance.”
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Part 9 Personal grievances, disputes, and enforcement
Personal grievances

112Choice of procedures

  1. Where the circumstances giving rise to a personal grievance by an employee are also such that that employee would be entitled to make a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993, the employee may take 1, but not both, of the following steps:

  2. the employee may, if the grievance is not otherwise resolved, apply to the Authority for the resolution of the grievance:
    1. the employee may make, in relation to those circumstances, a complaint under the Human Rights Act 1993.

      1. For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), an employee makes a complaint when proceedings in relation to that complaint are commenced by the complainant or the Commission.

      2. If an employee applies to the Authority for a resolution of the grievance under subsection (1)(a), the employee may not exercise or continue to exercise any rights in relation to the subject matter of the grievance that the employee may have under the Human Rights Act 1993.

      3. If an employee makes a complaint under subsection (1)(b), the employee may not exercise or continue to exercise any rights in relation to the subject matter of the complaint that the employee may have under this Act.

      Compare
      • 1991 No 22 s 39
      Notes
      • Section 112(2): substituted, on , by section 71(1) of the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 96).
      • Section 112(3): added, on , by section 41 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).
      • Section 112(4): added, on , by section 41 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).