Employer insists there was 'no work to offer' despite Rankin rendering work
New Zealand politician Christine Rankin has been ruled an “employee” by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for the work she carried out at the Transforming Justice Foundation (TJF) - even if her employer insisted that she wasn't given a job offer.
Rankin claimed that she was employed by the TJF on or about July 6, 2020, as the organisation's child abuse spokeswoman following an offer from Scott Guthrie.
Guthrie, who at that time was TJF's chief operating officer, offered Rankin the role which had an annual pay of $100,000.
Rankin said she did not receive payment from the organisation despite working there for some months, leading her to raise the matter to the TJF Board — only to find out that they were unaware that she was working for them.
'No job to offer' to Rankin
The TJF told the ERA that there was "never an employment relationship with Mrs. Rankin because there was no job to offer."
According to the board, who claimed to be "unknowing, innocent parties" in the case, they had no intention to hire Rankin because it had no money to pay anyone for the role.
Guthrie, who was also not paid for the work he performed, was also not authorised to offer Rankin employment or any alternative, the board defended.
The former executive, however, claimed that he acted with TJF Board's approval in negotiating and entering the employment agreement with Rankin.
Rankin submitted to the ERA the transcript and video of the meeting she had with the TJF Board on May 17, where there was an agreement that the CEO would "contract" with her.
She also provided a copy of an individual employment agreement offered by Guthrie on June 6, 2020, the work she performed for TJF starting a month later, as well as the $10,000 she received in January 2021.
ERA's decision
The ERA determined that Rankin was an employee of TJF in its ruling made last month.
According to the ERA, the meeting and the employment agreement from Guthrie that Rankin signed and returned were elements indicating that she and TJF were to enter an employment agreement.
It was also reasonable for Rankin to understand that Guthrie's interactions with her were legitimate given that she was not party to further communications between Guthrie and the Board after the May 17 meeting, according to the authority.
"For these reasons, the Authority is satisfied that Mrs. Rankin and TJF entered an employment agreement on 6 June 2020," the ERA said in its ruling.
"A directions conference is to be convened with the parties to discuss next steps in progressing this employment relationship problem."
Rankin is a former civil servant who previously served as head of the Ministry of Social Development. She is now a TaupÅ District councillor. According to the official, she wants to recover the wages she didn't get from the TJF.
"I was really miffed to be treated like that when I'd given it everything I possibly could," Rankin told NZME in an interview.
Guthrie, despite being a respondent in the case, also expressed support for Rankin.
"In my opinion, the board did a U-turn and just discovered they couldn’t afford to pay her salary," he told NZME. "What I'm supporting is what's right, and what's right is Christine Rankin should be paid what she's owed."