The community leaders were appealing a decision that classified members as employees rather than community volunteers. The defendants at Gloriavale argued that the Labour Inspectors’ actions were untimely, as any breaches should have been identified during investigations in 2017 and 2021. According to the law, the Labour Inspector must seek penalties within 12 months of discovering a breach.
During the employment hearing in November of this year, the Labour Inspector’s counsel mentioned advice from Crown Law in 2021 stating that the workers were not considered employees, and thus the Inspector could not act against this advice. Both the Gloriavale defendants and the plaintiffs contended that by referencing the Crown Law advice, the Labour Inspector had waived privilege over it, a position that the Labour Inspector had initially opposed.
Chief Judge Christina Inglis, in her decision, noted that the Labour Inspector was attempting to use the advice to justify the delay while simultaneously claiming privilege over it to avoid scrutiny of that justification. She pointed out that the Labour Inspector had the authority to initiate proceedings against Gloriavale in 2021 but chose not to do so, with the Crown Law advice playing a role in that decision-making process.
Chief Judge Inglis ruled that the privilege over the 2021 Crown Law advice had been waived, and consequently, the Labour Inspector must disclose it to both the defendants and plaintiffs in the Gloriavale employment case within five working days. The Labour Inspector has the option to appeal this order if deemed necessary.
