The Employment Court of New Zealand (Māori: Te Kooti Take-a-mihi o Aotearoa) is a specialist court for employment disputes. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Employment Relations Act 2000. The Employment Court is a court of record and has equal standing to the High Court of New Zealand.

History

The Court of Arbitration was a specialist employment court in New Zealand that dealt with industrial relations disputes from 1894 to 1973.

The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 created a compulsory arbitration system for resolving industrial disputes. Part of this involved the creation of the Court of Arbitration. The court heard industrial disputes, made and interpreted awards, and set minimum standards of employment. The court also had the power to set and adjust wages.[1] The court comprised a Supreme Court Judge, a union representative, and an employers' representative.

These elements continued through a number of successive acts until repeal in 1973.

The Employment Contracts Act 1991 established the Employment Court to deal with employment disputes.[2]: 233 

Chief judge

The following is a list of the chief judges of the Employment Court since it was established in 1991.

Name Portrait Term of office Sources
1 Thomas Goddard 15 May 1991 – 19 May 2005 [3]
2 Graeme Colgan 20 May 2005 – 9 July 2017 [3]
3 Christina Inglis 10 July 2017 – present [4]

Case law

References

  1. ^ http://www.justice.govt.nz/employment/role/default.asp#ec13 Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine Role & Structure of the NZ Employment Court
  2. ^ Employment Contracts Act 1991, s 103.
  3. ^ a b "New chief Employment Court judge". New Zealand Government. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. ^ "New chief Employment Court judge appointed". New Zealand Government. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
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