| Restrictions | OK |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Employment Relations Authority - Auckland |
| Reference No | AA 462/09 |
| Hearing date | 8 Dec 2009 |
| Determination date | 18 December 2009 |
| Member | A Dumbleton |
| Representation | S Dench ; K Thompson |
| Location | Auckland |
| Parties | New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association Inc v Mount Cook Airline Ltd |
| Summary | DISPUTE – Applicant claimed respondent’s holiday pay calculation breached Holidays Act 2003 (“HA 2003”) – Respondent sought to pay pilots extra half day’s pay for each public holiday worked since HA 2003 came into force - Respondent calculated pay for one day by applying divisor of 365 to employee’s annual salary, then halving to arrive at half day’s pay – Applicant claimed divisor of 365 breached s9 HA 2003, and correct divisor for calculating relevant daily pay (“RDP”) was 206 – Applicant claimed pilots paid to work 206 days a year, not 365 - Respondent argued pay for pilots calculated and paid for each day of the year, irrespective of whether the pilot worked the day or not – Authority rejected applicant’s argument that respondent’s approach meant pilots were notionally being paid to work every day of year – Found paying same amount for each day of year not the same as paying pilots as if they worked 365 days – Found no agreement in CEA that 206 to be applied to calculation of RDP – Found even if use of 365 as divisor was unusual or exceptional, did not of itself mean methodology breached HA 2003 – Found respondent had clear rationale for calculating RDP, based on pilots’ availability for work on any day of year, rather than based on days actually worked – Found sum was at least minimum amount required by s50 HA 2003 – No breach of HA 2003 in respondent calculating a day’s pay as being 1/365th of pilot’s salary |
| Result | Question answered in favour of respondent ; Costs reserved |
| Main Category | Dispute |
| Statutes | ERA s53;Holidays Act 2003 s9(1);Holidays Act 2003 s50 |
| Cases Cited | NZALPA v Air New Zealand Ltd [2007] 1 ERNZ 884;Wignall v Air NZ [1998] 3 ERNZ 152 |
| Number of Pages | 8 |
| PDF File Link: | aa 462_09.pdf [pdf 31 KB] |