'Win' for Olympian over job

Olympic great Paul MacDonald fronting up at the Auckland Employment Court this week. Photo / Doug Sherring

Olympic great Paul MacDonald has described the outcome of the first stage of his employment fight against Canoe Racing New Zealand as "bittersweet".

MacDonald went to the Employment Relations Authority after his fixed-term contract was not renewed last year.

In a ruling released this week, authority member Alastair Dumbleton agreed the contract was "ineffective".

MacDonald told the hearing he believed his contract would roll over if his team gave strong performances, and that he was entitled to lost wages.

Dumbleton refused to grant MacDonald lost wages because the contract had ended before he raised concerns about its deficiencies.

"The authority is saying, 'you were right - the fixed-term agreement is ineffective, but never mind'," said MacDonald.