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Employment Relations Act 2000

Institutions - Employment Relations Authority

179: Challenges to determinations of Authority

You could also call this:

“If you're unhappy with a decision from the Employment Relations Authority, you can ask a court to look at it again.”

If you are not happy with a written decision made by the Employment Relations Authority, you can ask for your case to be heard by the Employment Court instead. This is called making a challenge.

You have 28 days after the Authority makes its decision to challenge it. You need to follow the proper process to make your challenge.

When you challenge a decision, you need to say which part of the decision you disagree with. You also need to say if you want the whole case to be heard again from the start. This is called a hearing de novo.

If you don’t want a full new hearing, you need to explain what you think the Authority got wrong. You need to say what questions you want the court to look at, why you’re challenging the decision, and what outcome you want.

You can’t challenge some types of decisions. These include when the Authority tells you its findings out loud, or decisions about how the Authority will handle your case.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM60967.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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178A: Challenge in respect of dismissal of frivolous or vexatious proceedings, or

“You can ask a court to check if your case was fairly thrown out for being silly or annoying.”

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179A: Limitation on challenges to certain determinations of Authority, or

“You can only challenge certain decisions if it's about specific reasons for ending a bargaining process.”

Part 10 Institutions
Employment Relations Authority

179Challenges to determinations of Authority

  1. A party to a matter before the Authority who is dissatisfied with a written determination of the Authority under section 174A(2), 174B(2), 174C(3), or 174D(2) (or any part of that determination) may elect to have the matter heard by the court.

  2. An election under subsection (1) must be made in the prescribed manner and within 28 days after the date of the determination.

  3. The election must—

  4. specify the determination, or the part of the determination, to which the election relates; and
    1. state whether or not the party making the election is seeking a full hearing of the entire matter (in this Part referred to as a hearing de novo).

      1. If the party making the election is not seeking a hearing de novo, the election must specify, in addition to the matters specified in subsection (3),—

      2. any error of law or fact alleged by that party; and
        1. any question of law or fact to be resolved; and
          1. the grounds on which the election is made, which grounds are to be specified with such reasonable particularity as to give full advice to both the court and the other parties of the issues involved; and
            1. the relief sought.

              1. Subsection (1) does not apply—

              2. to an oral determination or an oral indication of preliminary findings given by the Authority under section 174(a) or (b); and
                1. to a determination, or part of a determination, about the procedure that the Authority has followed, is following, or is intending to follow; and
                  1. without limiting paragraph (a), to a determination, or part of a determination, about whether the Authority may follow or adopt a particular procedure.

                    Compare
                    • 1991 No 22 s 95(1), (2)
                    Notes
                    • Section 179(1): replaced, on , by section 70(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                    • Section 179(2): replaced, on , by section 70(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                    • Section 179(5): added, on , by section 59 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).
                    • Section 179(5)(aa): inserted, on , by section 70(2) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).