It’ll soon be five years since the National Government first rolled out their controversial 90-day trial period policy. In that time, trial periods have attracted their fair share of litigation as many employers have fallen afoul of the Courts for trying to use them inappropriately. 

It is a well-founded principle of criminal law that someone cannot be tried twice for the same crime. But how does this fly in an employment context? A recent case involving the dismissal of a Pacific Blue employee with a fondness for ‘high’ times delves into this murky issue.

The damning Royal Commission report into the Pike River mining tragedy, issued in November 2011, found that Pike River’s directors had failed to pay sufficient attention to health and safety and that they had “exposed the company’s workers to an unacceptable risk”. 

For those who remember the blockbusting super-marionation television series of the 1960s, the name Thunderbird One will conjour up thoughts of space-age technology, international rescue and people committed to protecting their fellow man.  A recent case will challenge that notion after an employer of the same name was ordered to pay more than $60,000 to a former employee who was discriminated against, sexually harassed, and constructively dismissed.