Prince Harry dangles a dream job ‘offer’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won the hearts of many Kiwis on their visit. Although not many of us are monarchists, we seem to have been impressed with the royal couple’s respect for Ma¯ ori culture, their attention to mental health issues, and their support of women’s suffrage and feminism.
In their four busy days in New Zealand, Harry and Meghan visited Wellington, Abel Tasman, Auckland, and Rotorua. While in Wellington, they visited Maranui Cafe in Lyall Bay for a mental health event aimed at helping eradicate stigma around discussing mental health.
One of the young leaders to meet Harry and Meghan at the event was 19-year-old Lucia Kennedy, a Victoria University student.
Lucia boldly said to Harry: ‘‘I finish uni in two years – I’d love to come and work for you.’’
It is reported he replied: ‘‘We’d love to have you, just give us a yell when you come over.’’
Lucia is an impressive young person. At the age of 12 she created the Take A Chance project, which aimed to encourage young people aged 8 to 16 years who were affected by the Christchurch earthquakes to achieve their dreams.
The media has been reporting on Prince Harry’s comment to Lucia as a proper job offer.
Is securing a job really that simple? Should Lucia book a one-way ticket to London for two years’ time when she finishes her degree?
An employment relationship is essentially a contract. Before a contract can be formed there must be a definite offer which can be accepted. When does a conversation about a job actually become an offer of employment?
They key thing is that the terms and conditions of employment must be sufficiently clear. Generally, a person should not rely on a job offer until they receive a written offer with an employment agreement.
So do pre-employment discussions really mean anything?
The short of it is that it is very difficult to enforce anything said when discussing a potential job. To enforce a statement by a future employer you must be able to show there was a clear and unequivocal statement that you relied on to your detriment. In employment, the detriment may well be that the worker resigned from their previous job.
It is crucial that all important terms discussed are included in an employment agreement because it is difficult to enforce pre-employment conversations.
Jumping into new employment without sorting out the terms and conditions is a recipe for disaster.
In 2011 the Employment Court heard the case of Ricky Blackmore who did just that. Blackmore left his job after he was offered the position of farm manager at Honick Properties. Concerningly, no employment contract was provided with the offer.
After Blackmore had started working he was given an employment agreement containing a 90-day trial clause. Blackmore said he would not have accepted the offer if he had known there was a trial period. As Blackmore had already started work he had no opportunity to negotiate the terms or obtain legal advice and felt pressured to sign the agreement.
Blackmore was dismissed at the end of the trial period. He said he was unjustifiably dismissed but Honick Properties argued he could not bring a claim as he was dismissed under a trial period.
The court decided Blackmore could bring a claim for unjustified dismissal. The employment agreement was also found to be unfair as Blackmore had no opportunity to consider the agreement and negotiate.
Even so, Blackmore still lost his job and had to take legal action. The much better alternative is to make sure all the important details are set out in an employment agreement and settled before commencing work.
No doubt Prince Harry’s job offer to Lucia was genuine. Hopefully in a few years we will hear stories of the great work she is doing in London on mental health.
The lesson for those not offered a job by a royal is not to rely on pre-employment conversations. Everything important should be confirmed in the written agreement.