Employment Law Advice and Representation for Employers Across New Zealand

Nationwide Employment Law Support for Employers

Employment law obligations apply regardless of whether a business operates in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or a smaller regional centre.

However, employers outside the main centres may find it difficult to obtain prompt, specialist assistance when an employment problem arises. In many cases, the employer needs advice immediately, before sending a letter, suspending an employee, commencing consultation or making a final decision.

Distance should not prevent an employer from obtaining experienced employment law support.

I.R. Thompson Associates works directly with:

• Business owners and directors
• General managers
• Human resources professionals
• Operations and site managers
• Payroll and health and safety personnel
• Internal advisers responsible for employment processes

We can provide advice on a specific issue or assist with the entire process from the initial concern through to the final decision.

Employment Problems Need to Be Managed Properly from the Beginning

One of the most common mistakes an employer can make is waiting until the process has gone wrong before seeking advice.

A poorly drafted allegation, inadequate disclosure of relevant information or a decision reached before hearing the employee’s explanation may create unnecessary risk. Even where an employer has a genuine and substantial concern, the procedure followed remains important.

Early employment law advice can help the employer:

• Identify the correct process
• Preserve and assess the relevant evidence
• Determine what information should be disclosed
• Prepare clear and specific correspondence
• Give the employee a proper opportunity to respond
• Consider the response before reaching a decision
• Document the reasons supporting the outcome
• Respond appropriately if a personal grievance is raised

Our focus is on helping employers make informed, lawful and commercially sensible decisions.

Disciplinary Processes and Serious Misconduct

The employer needs to identify what is alleged, gather the available information and give the employee a reasonable opportunity to understand and answer the concerns. The employer must then consider the employee’s explanation genuinely before deciding whether the allegations are established and what outcome may be appropriate.

We assist employers with:

• Preliminary assessment of workplace concerns
• Drafting disciplinary invitation letters
• Formulating clear allegations
• Reviewing witness statements and other evidence
• Advising on suspension and alternative arrangements
• Planning and attending disciplinary meetings
• Assessing the employee’s explanations
• Preparing preliminary decisions
• Preparing warning or dismissal outcome letters

Not every allegation justifies dismissal. Equally, employers should not be prevented from taking appropriate action where substantial concerns are established following a fair process.

Poor Performance and Performance Management

Poor performance should generally be addressed through a structured and properly communicated process.

The employee should understand the required standard, the respects in which that standard is not being achieved and what improvement is expected. The process should also provide a reasonable opportunity for improvement, together with appropriate review and feedback.

We can help employers prepare:

• Letters identifying performance concerns
• Performance improvement plans
• Measurable objectives and review requirements
• Meeting correspondence
• Written warnings
• Review letters and final decisions

Well-organised documentation helps the employee understand the process and allows the employer to demonstrate what support, feedback and opportunities for improvement were provided.

Restructuring and Redundancy Advice

Restructuring decisions may be driven by reduced work, rising costs, technological change, altered customer demand or a need to reorganise how the business operates.

A genuine commercial reason does not remove the need for a fair consultation process.

Before reaching a final decision, an employer may need to present a proposal, disclose relevant information, invite feedback and genuinely consider alternatives. Employers must be careful not to communicate a proposal as though the outcome has already been decided.

I.R. Thompson Associates assists with:

• Reviewing the business reasons for a proposed restructure
• Preparing restructuring proposals
• Identifying potentially affected positions
• Planning consultation meetings
• Responding to employee feedback
• Considering redeployment and other alternatives
• Preparing preliminary and final decisions
• Responding to redundancy-related personal grievances

Your existing website already provides employer information concerning redundancy, incapacity, employment agreements, trial periods, abandonment, performance and misconduct.

Medical Incapacity and Extended Absence

Long-term illness or injury can place considerable pressure on a business, particularly where the employer cannot operate indefinitely without the employee performing the role.

These matters require careful consideration. The employer needs sufficient medical information to understand the employee’s prognosis, likely return to work and ability to perform the position. The employee must ordinarily have an opportunity to comment on relevant information and respond before a decision is made.

We help employers manage:

• Requests for relevant medical information
• Communication with an absent employee
• Return-to-work uncertainty
• Consultation about ongoing incapacity
• Consideration of temporary adjustments
• Preliminary decisions
• Final medical incapacity decisions

The objective is to follow a fair process while recognising that an employer cannot necessarily keep a position open indefinitely where there is no sufficiently reliable indication of a return to work.

Independent Workplace Investigations

Workplace complaints can involve bullying, harassment, discrimination, conflicts between employees, alleged breaches of policy or other serious conduct.

An investigation should be properly scoped and should distinguish between allegations, evidence and findings. The investigator must approach the evidence impartially and provide relevant participants with an appropriate opportunity to respond.

We can assist by:

• Advising the employer on the investigation process
• Preparing terms of reference
• Identifying and particularising allegations
• Conducting or supporting witness interviews
• Reviewing documents and digital evidence
• Preparing findings and investigation reports
• Advising on the disciplinary process following an investigation

Robert Thompson is an employment law advocate and a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators. That membership is also reflected in the firm’s professional correspondence.

Responding to Personal Grievances

Receiving a personal grievance does not establish that the employer acted unlawfully. It does mean that the allegations should be reviewed carefully and answered on the available facts.

We assist employers by:

• Reviewing correspondence and relevant documents
• Assessing the substantive and procedural issues
• Preparing responses to grievance allegations
• Identifying evidence supporting the employer’s position
• Advising on settlement strategy
• Preparing for mediation
• Representing employers in the Employment Relations Authority

Where resolution is appropriate, we can advise on a practical and commercially sensible approach. Where a claim should be defended, we can help the employer present its position clearly and robustly.

Employment Agreements, Policies and Everyday Advice

Not every employment issue begins with a dispute.

Preventative advice can reduce the risk of future problems by ensuring that agreements, policies and management practices are appropriate for the business.

We advise employers about:

• Individual employment agreements
• Casual, fixed-term and permanent employment
• Trial periods
• Workplace policies
• Changes to employment arrangements
• Transfers between employing entities
• Hours of work and availability
• Garden leave and termination provisions
• Abandonment of employment
• General employment relationship questions

The firm’s existing employer resources cover agreements, trial periods and abandonment, as well as disciplinary, performance and redundancy matters. Internal records also demonstrate advice concerning changes of employing entity and updates to employment agreements.

Remote Representation Is Practical and Effective

Most employment matters involve reviewing documents, preparing correspondence, obtaining instructions and attending meetings.

These steps can usually be completed efficiently through:

• Email
• Telephone conferences
• Microsoft Teams meetings
• Secure electronic document exchange

The firm’s records show employer meetings being conducted through Microsoft Teams and employment matters being managed through electronic correspondence and documentation.

Remote representation can give an employer prompt access to specialist assistance without requiring repeated travel or limiting the business to advisers located nearby.

Where attendance in person is necessary, that can be discussed based on the location, urgency and nature of the matter.

Why Employers Choose I.R. Thompson Associates

Employers need more than a general summary of the law. They need clear advice about what to do next.

We provide:

• Specialist employment law assistance
• Direct and practical advice
• Professionally prepared correspondence
• Guidance through difficult employment processes
• Representation in grievances, mediation and litigation
• Support for employers anywhere in New Zealand
• A cost-conscious alternative to engaging a large law firm

I.R. Thompson Associates is a family-run employment law practice and a member of the Employment Law Institute of New Zealand. The firm’s website states that it provides advice on employment agreements, personal grievances, restructuring, redundancy, trial periods and disciplinary meetings.

Employer Advice Wherever Your Business Is Located

Whether your business is located in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill or elsewhere in New Zealand, I.R. Thompson Associates can assist.

We understand that employment problems can become urgent. Before sending a formal letter, commencing a disciplinary or restructuring process, or making a decision that could result in a personal grievance, obtain advice about the appropriate next step.

Speak to an Employment Law Specialist

I.R. Thompson Associates provides employment law advice and representation to employers across New Zealand.

For assistance with a disciplinary matter, restructuring, redundancy, poor performance, medical incapacity, workplace investigation or personal grievance:

Call: 03 383 9988 or Email: reception@irt.nz