Employee Services | Helen Gilbert Employment Law

For Employers

Employment Law Services

“For everything there is a season – a time for war and a time for peace. ”Any employment relationship problem must involve a mediation before there can be an Employment Relations Authority hearing. We have extensive experience in collectively working through 1000’s of settlement negotiations on a “without prejudice” basis either before or during mediation. We understand that there are times when an employer will defend a position as a matter of principle, and similarly, there are times when a fast resolution is in the business’s best interests. We have a unique advantage as the firm acts for both employers and employees, which provides distinct insight into the best approaches for resolution.

Mediation & Settlements

At times, the first contact we have from an employer is a call saying that they need to have a problematic employee exited from the business. Upon further enquiry, we usually discover there have been on-going issues (though mostly unaddressed).Whether your organisation experiences a sudden event of misconduct / serious misconduct or reoccurring issues with an employee, we have extensive skills and experience to walk you through the necessary steps to reach an outcome that is workable and reasonable for the business.

Disciplinary & Poor Performance

Personal Grievances

Over the years, se have noticed a substantial rise in employees raising personalgrievances (perhaps as a result of the no-win no-fee industry). Grievances can be timeconsuming and costly for businesses, and it is therefore critical that a structured andwise approach is planned from the outset of the process. Employees have 90 days fromthe date on which the grievance arose to raise a grievance, and most often they use thegrievance process as a means to initiating exit discussions from the business. We canhelp you navigate this process in a way that focuses on the best outcome from thebusiness’s perspective.

An employer has a right to manage the structure of its business in a way it sees fit. The problem we see however, is that the approach taken by organisations often fail to comply with the many and varied legal obligations of consultation, disclosure and good faith. We encourage our employer clients to seek advice at the conceptual stage of the process, so that we can ensure a correct process is followed. If, however, you are partway through a restructuring and issues have arisen, then we are well experienced at remedial action.

Restructuring & Redundancy

As General Counsel at the University of Canterbury and In-House Counsel at the Far North District Council I have worked with Helen Gilbert on complex employment and Occupational Health & Safety matters and have found her advice to be timely and professional and proactive in the development of policy.

Medical Incapacity

We often have employers say they have just used a “standard employment agreement”. After many years working in employment law, we can confidently say that there is no such thing. There is considerable value in ensuring that your employment agreement is tailor made for your business; it allows you to focus on areas of concern such as enforceable restraints of trade and 90 trial period clauses, as many template versions do not meet the legal standard for enforceability. We recommend that businesses at leasthave a comprehensive Code of Conduct policy, though some of our clients also requestMotor Vehicles, Disciplinary, Training Bonds, Drug & Alcohol and Covid policies.

Drafting Agreements & Policies

Helen Gilbert recently presented a paper to the Auckland District Law Society on restraints of trade and was interviewed on Today FM to discuss the Tova O’Brien (O’Brien v Discovery NZ Ltd 2022) restraint of trade decision. In times past, restraints of trade were generally unenforceable, however, the pendulum has now swung in favour of enforcing the restraint provided the clauses meet the test of reasonableness and there is a proprietary interest to protect. This means that the drafting of restraint provisions are more important than ever. Please contact us to discuss the drafting and/or enforceability of the business’s restraints.

Restraints of Trade

Workplace Investigations & Complaints