For Employers | Helen Gilbert Employment Law

Personal Grievances

Restructuring & Redundancy

Disciplinary & Poor Performance

Restraints of Trade

Medical Incapacity

Workplace Investigations & Complaints

Drafting Agreements & Policies

Mediation & Settlements

Employers

Assistance for Employers

Our employer clients cover a wide variety of industries including retail, construction, manufacturing, scaffolding, labour hire, aviation tourism, insurance, research companies, agriculture, hospitality, interior design and architecture, schools, and churches together with numerous medical practices. Our experience includes advising in both unionised and non-unionised workforces; with our Associate having worked for ETU union for several years.

For Employers

Employment Law Services

Assistance for Employers

Mediation & Settlements

“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.

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, we have noticed a substantial rise in employees raising personal grievances (perhaps as a result of the no-win no-fee industry). Grievances can be time consuming and costly for businesses, and it is therefore critical that a structured and wise approach is planned from the outset of the process. Employees have 90 days from the date on which the grievance arose to raise a grievance, and most often they use the grievance process as a means to initiating exit discussions from the business. We can help you navigate this process in a way that focuses on the best outcome from the business'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

Long term or regular periods of employee absence because of illness or injury can be challenging for an employer managing their business. While it is well established in law that employers in these situations are not required to keep a job open indefinitely, this area can be difficult for employers to traverse well. Case law in this area highlights an employer should ensure it has all the necessary information and follows a fair and reasonable process in these situations. As an employer, if you are facing this situation please get in touch with us early and we can discuss the best way to approach these situations sensitively. We can offer invaluable insights learnt from experience to help you avoid creating legal issues for your business.

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 complaints can lead into a need to carry out a workplace investigation that can have the potential to be very time consuming and more complex than initially thought. It would not be a stretch to say that depending on the parties involved, these processes can become a minefield of problems. As an employer you want to be able to focus on your business and do what you do well and reduce distractions that come from workplace investigations. You also want the confidence that the process is carried out in compliance with the law and is fair to all involved. That is why our extensive experience of workplace investigations can be very handy and ensure you meet your legal obligations and protect your business. Helen’s criminal law background can also be invaluable where employment investigations overlap with criminal matters.

Workplace Investigations & Complaints

EMPLOYERS

Examples of work we undertake regularly:

Personal Grievances

Dealing with employees who are failing to perform and require performance improvement plans; working through disciplinary processes where employees have behaved in a manner that amounts to serious misconduct (e.g. theft, verbal / physical abuse, drug or alcohol issues; bullying; pornography; breach of confidentiality; conflict of interest).

Personal Grievances

Helping businesses streamline operations through restructuring and redundancy. Including advice on when to notify employees about possible changes; how much to disclose; when you need a selection criteria and what to include; drafting correspondence for staff; dealing with unions during that process and redeployment considerations.

Personal Grievances

Recovery of misappropriated funds from contractors or employees (Fletcher Steel Ltd v Nahal Contractors Ltd High Court Auckland 26 February 2008).Assisting with training managers on employment issues and health & safety training, running workshops tailored to your business.

Personal Grievances

Addressing issues where the employee is simply not the right fit for the business.

Personal Grievances

Conducting independent investigations into allegations of misconduct.

Personal Grievances

Negotiating collective agreements with a Union and dealing with related issues that arise during bargaining.

Personal Grievances

Assisting with training managers on employment issues and health & safety training, running workshops tailored to your business.

Personal Grievances

Regular mediations, appearances in the Employment Relations Authority and Court (including High Court where appropriate).

Personal Grievances

Conducting performance reviews for CEOs or senior managers.

Personal Grievances

Working through employees raising personal grievances and the inevitable sick leave issues that accompany it. Also assisting with advice on how to manage medical incapacity and rehabilitation issues.

Personal Grievances

Drafting employment agreements, independent contracts, various policies and codes of conduct including drug policies. Advice on 90 day trial periods.

Hear what our EMployer clients have to say

Testimonials

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. Helen is able to work with the business and provide cost effective advice. She is always willing to discuss matters and kept me informed as matters progressed. From the perspective of in-house counsel Helen is willing to share tasks in a cost effective manner.

John F. Verry, LLM

In-House Counsel

Legal Services

Helen Gilbert, employment lawyer, helped our medical practice with a recent employment issue. Helen dealt with this serious matter very capably and obtained a resolution prior to mediation. Her expertise and excellent communication skills saved us a lot of work, stress and cost. We found Helen very approachable, organised, informed, prompt and accurate. The terms obtained were greatly appreciated by the doctors (directors). We would recommend her to anyone who requires help with employment matters.

I can highly recommend Helen Gilbert as an astute lawyer that has comprehensive knowledge of employment law in New Zealand. She has been able to explain complex legal issues and work through possible scenarios depending on your course of actions. The advice from Helen was always informative and accurate. At times Helen has been able to work and advise management directly on employment issues, and manage to keep me informed of developments. This advice has been communicated in a clear and concise manner that Managers can understand and follow. This has enabled middle management to become more knowledge of employment law issues and understand the consequences of poor staff management.

Dr Catherine Spencer-Taylor

Greers Road Medical Centre

Rhys Andrews

Company Director

Access One Scaffolding

Helen acted on our behalf in respect of a complex employment matter. She was very approachable and was able to clearly identify and address all the relevant concerns. Her input was extremely valuable in working towards a resolution and we were very satisfied with the outcome. I would be happy to recommend her services.

Dr Trudy Warin

We look forward to speaking with you.

A significant portion of our time is spent in mediations for clients. Due to the confidential nature of these settlements, we cannot disclose the details. However, a convincing yet balanced presentation of your case can make a significant difference to the view the other side takes of your claim and can impact significantly on the likely sums involved in any settlement.

Helen Gilbert

Principal Barrister

Stef Anstey

Business Manager

Diana D'silva

Susana Salusalu

Barrister