AFFCO explains Employment Court appeal

The meat processor claims the decision goes against 30 years of “well established” law in New Zealand.

AFFCO New Zealand has spoken out about a recent Employment Court decision that didn’t go in the company’s favour, claiming it contradicts decades of well-established law within New Zealand.

The case addressed the issue of whether seasonal plant work amounted to continuous employment or, as AFFCO argued, discontinuous employment with off-season workers classed as unemployed.

Eventually the meat processor was found to have unlawfully locked out workers when collective bargaining talks were still under way but the Talley’s-operated organization is appealing. 

“Despite 30 years of well-established law in New Zealand providing that seasonal workers are not employees in the off-season, the Employment Court overturned such established law and determined that employment is continuous,” a company representative told HRM.

“Given that the Employment Court’s decision goes against over 30 years of well-established law in New Zealand, and has serious consequences for the entire seasonal workforce in New Zealand, the judgment is under appeal,” he added.

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