Nicholas entered into a repayment agreement and made payments totalling a pro-rata amount of $17,165.30. Rosser had approximately $5,155.55 deducted from his final pay. Both disputed the bonds’ legality, prompting NZALPA to file proceedings on their behalf.
The ERA’s findings
The ERA rejected Jetconnect’s arguments, finding the training covered by the bonds produced no transferable personal benefit for either pilot.
“The benefit of the training bond therefore runs one way, namely to Jetconnect only,” the ERA ruled.
“The flying hours Mr Nicholas and Mr Rosser gained were a natural consequence of their employment as commercial pilots, so did not arise from a recognised qualification or transferable benefit they should have paid for. Jetconnect benefited because it generated revenue from the two pilots flying its B737s.”
The ERA further noted that the CASA approval process completed through Jetconnect’s program was non-transferable, meaning a new employer would require the pilots to undergo equivalent training from scratch regardless.