Source: Radio New Zealand
123RF
A parcel courier company has been ordered to pay three former employees a total of $50,000 for unjustified dismissal, unjustified disadvantage and humiliation.
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) delivered the ruling against Fast Horse Limited (trading as Fast Horse Express), based in the central Auckland suburb of Avondale, on Monday.
Ziyu Xiao worked full time for the business as a delivery driver for about six months from late 2023 before her employment ended following a verbal altercation with her manager, the ERA said in its ruling.
Drivers were expected to collect their parcels from the company’s warehouse on Rosebank Road, which is a busy road, according to the ruling.
Xiao was told to park her car on the other side of the road, but the driver’s manager took exception to her crossing a busy road while moving a cage of parcels to the vehicle, losing his temper and verbally abused her, it said.
Xiao was unhappy about her manager’s behaviour and filed a complaint with the company.
The very next day, Xiao found herself blocked from the company’s smartphone app that was used to assign work to drivers.
Xiao’s husband, Youtian Yang, who was also a delivery driver for the company, also found his access to the app blocked.
Yang was never given a reason by his employer about why he was denied access and believed this to be a retaliatory action by the company following Xiao’s complaint.
SUPPLIED
Another worker, Limei Liu, also worked as a delivery driver for the company from late 2023 to early 2024, working briefly as a warehouse role immediately afterwards.
Liu said her manager threatened to suspend her when she made suggestions to improve operational efficiency.
Liu also said she challenged the company’s practice of using work visa holders as drivers who were then paid in cash.
The practice took work away from resident visa holders such as herself who needed the work to support their own families, she said.
When she challenged this practice, she was also removed from the company’s WhatsApp group chat and offered no further work.
ERA member Peter Fuiava said the company had not engaged with the investigation since notifying the authority in May 2025 it would act for itself instead of being represented by counsel it had used earlier.
The company also failed to provide any written statements in reply as directed and did not attend an investigation meeting, he said.
“There being no evidence in reply from FHE (Fast Horse Express) to what the applicants have individually and collectively put before the authority, I have no difficulty finding that Ms Xiao and her husband were unjustifiably dismissed from their employment,” Fuiava said in his ruling.
“As for Ms Liu, by threatening her with suspension and ‘retraining’, FHE did not act as a fair and reasonable employer.
“The company had also dismissed Ms Liu unjustifiably when she challenged her employer about its workplace practices with respect to the use of accredited work visa holders who appear to have been paid in cash.”
Fuiava also took into consideration the length of time the employees took to find alternative work, as well as the detriment to Xiao and Yang’s marriage.
He ordered the company to pay $17,500 to Xiao comprising lost remuneration of $4200 and compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings of $13,300.
The company was also ordered to pay Yang $15,000, comprising $5,651 for lost remuneration and $9,349 for compensation.
It also needed to pay Liu $17,500, comprising $2,724 for lost remuneration and compensation of $14,776 for unjustified disadvantage and dismissal.
The payments needed to be made no later than 11 May, Fuiava said.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
