The Employment Court (Court) has recently, in the decision of The Salad Bowl Ltd v Amberleigh Howe- Thornley1 , scrutinised the practice of using pre-employment work trial periods.

A pre-employment work trial period is where an employer trials a potential employee’s skills prior to offering employment, unlike a “90-day trial period” under the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) where the employee is employed during the trial period and the employment may be terminated pursuant to s 67A of the ERA.

The following case summary highlights some of the pitfalls in using pre-employment work trial periods as well as the lessons that employers can learn in terms of how best to approach gauging applicants’ suitability for the job...