Authority members look into the facts of an employment issue, hear evidence from each party and their witnesses and make a decision called a "determination" to resolve the problem.
It can take a few weeks or a few months for an application to be processed, investigated, and determined by an Authority Member, depending on:
The investigation meeting will take place as soon as practicable after lodging an application. The written determination is issued after the investigation meeting. Urgent matters and interim reinstatement or interim injunction proceedings will be heard more quickly.
Find out who can apply to have an employment issue investigated by the Authority and when.
Who can apply to the Authority
We recommend you go to mediation before applying to us – if we receive an application that hasn’t been to mediation we will usually refer the matter to mediation as a first step.
Complete and lodge your application form and supporting documents.
You can lodge your application online, by post or in person.
Find out about our fees and how to pay them.
You must pay your application fee when you lodge your application. The application fee:
After you have lodged your application, we will send a copy of your application and supporting documents to the respondent you have named, along with a "statement in reply" form.
Once they have received the documents, the respondent will have 14 days to submit their statement in reply. There is no fee for this.
Find out:
Representatives, help and advice
Your witnesses will need to:
Acting as a witness at the Employment Relations Authority
The case management conference usually happens by phone and is brief and informal. It involves both parties and/or their representatives.
Not every case needs a case management conference. If we decide your case does not need one, you may still be asked to provide more evidence or clarify points in your statement before the investigation meeting.
The case management conference
The investigation meeting is where you (or your representative) will present your case to the Authority.
The applicant, the respondent and all of the witnesses need to attend the investigation meeting.