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Former Harvey Norman Store Execs Fail To Take Legal Action Despite Claims Against OZ Management

Earlier this year we exclusively reported that Harvey Norman was supposedly facing legal actions in New Zealand from former proprietors, who had been sacked, now another former executive has popped his head up claiming that he wants to sue the big retailer, the only problem is that none of the former proprietors have actually stumped up the money to engage lawyers or filed documentation in a New Zealand Court, with questions raised as to whether they actually have the money for what could be an expensive legal battle.

See original Story here. 

In what appears to be a trial by media at this stage, it’s now been revealed that Lachlan MacDonald the former proprietor of the Harvey Normans store in Hastings is claiming that he was given 15 minutes to leave his store by Harvey Norman NZ general manager of furniture Graeme Duck after 16 years of service in Harvey Norman stores, he claims claiming that he is set to sue the global retail group following his sacking according to a story given to NZ BusinessDesk.

This is a similar situation that happened to other proprietors including one who it’s now alleged took his own life, the only problem is that despite months of former proprietors claiming that they have a case and are about to take action no documentation has been filed in New Zealand or Australian Courts against Harvey Norman or Harvey Norman Director John Slack Smith.

This is not the first time that Duck has been exposed for his handling of issues with former employees.

For executives have in the past made allegations that Harvey Norman management are “fabricating issues” in an effort to get rid of proprietors who claim that they are not contractors employed by separate business entities, but employees who should have the same rights as an employee.

In May ChannelNews revealed that Matthew Semple (Seen below) a New Zealand Proprietor who was the former Franchisee Director at Auburn, NSW—one of the company’s largest stores in Australia, walked away from his store in New Zealand after complaining to Sydney based director John Slack Smith about the work conditions and the way proprietors were employed.

 

In an email addressed to dozens of his colleagues and managers, Semple outlined why, after 17 years, he felt he could no longer work at Harvey Norman.

ChannelNews has spoken to Harvey Norman in Australia, they are refusing to comment due to the possibility of legal action being taken by the former proprietors.

In the latest case MacDonald claims he was given 30 days’ notice of the termination of his contract, during which he was not allowed to enter the store he had worked in for the previous six years.

“You have to bear in mind. Like the conversation that I had with Graeme, around my 16-year career, going down the toilet was done in 10 minutes” he told Business Day.

John Slack-Smith Director Harvey Norman.

Similar to the action that Semple took, MacDonald claims that on two occasions he went above Duck and spoke directly With Harvey Norman director John Slacksmith.

The way that the model works in New Zealand is similar to the Harvey Norman model in New Zealand in that an incorporated company employs the proprietor, the difference is that in Australia executives running stores are called proprietors.

Harvey Norman management has disputed that MacDonald had raised concerns about his experience working for Harvey Norman, saying “[MacDonald] did not make any complaints about bullying, intimidation, toxic or unsafe work practices”.

The spokesperson added that the termination was “due to unsatisfactory performance over a significant period, in which Harvey Norman had received a number of complaints about [MacDonald’s] attitude and behaviour from staff.”

MacDonald claims he was not told about these complaints at the time. “This is all coming out after the fact,” he said.

Following his termination, MacDonald claims that he got in touch with Matthew Semple whose claims we reported on back in May 2024.

Semple who ChannelNews spoke with today claims that they now have three former executives of Harvey Norman who are communicating with each other with a view to funding a legal action against Harvey Norman.

Semple and MacDonald both believe the relationship MacDonald had with Harvey Norman resembled that of an employee, not an independent contractor, and that consequently, his dismissal was unjustified.

According to BusinessDesk they have spoken to seven former Harvey Norman executives about their time working with the company.

All were “proprietors” and carried out the duties of a typical retail department manager. Their shared experiences provide insight into Harvey Norman’s business model in New Zealand.

 



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