| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 451/05 |
| Hearing date | 6 Sep 2005 |
| Determination date | 24 November 2005 |
| Member | R A Monaghan |
| Representation | R Bowden ; P Howard-Smith |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | Sinclair v Local Media Group Ltd |
| Summary | JURISDICTION - Whether employee or independent contractor - Agreement between respondent and company of which applicant was principal - Agreement described applicant as contractor" - Applicant considered himself to be self-employed at beginning of relationship but alleged he became employee - In agreement with respondent, applicant gave respondent's employee position as sales assistant - Employee was paid by way of deduction from applicant's remuneration - Unusual arrangement for employee but not for contractor - Applicant required to attend sales meetings but this was for communication rather than supervisory reasons - Only required to let respondent know where he was so staff could pass on messages - Control exercised did not change essential nature of contract - Respondent entitled to raise concerns about applicant's behaviour which reflected on or was identified with respondent - Respondent's removal of applicant's motor vehicle privileges following particular incident bore strong similarities to response expected in respect of employee - However real issue appeared to be interpretation and application of contractual provision in respect of car - Applicant alleged respondent removed clients from him - However allocation of clients treated by applicant as breach of contract issue - Real nature of relationship did not change - No employment relationship - Respondent's counsel's earlier apparent concession that applicant was employee disregarded because it was either retracted or corrected relatively soon after being made - Marketer" |
| Result | Application dismissed ; Costs reserved |
| Cases Cited | Koia v Carlyon Holdings Ltd [2001] ERNZ 585;TNT Worldwide Express (NZ) Ltd v Cunningham [1993] 3 NZLR 681 ; [1993] 1 ERNZ 695 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 451_05.pdf [pdf 54 KB] |