Employer Support | Employment Lawyers | WRMK Lawyers

WE’RE HERE TO SUPPORT EMPLOYERS

Being compliant with employment law does more than tick boxes – it supports your business to run smoothly and reach its goals. Our team can support you to hire and retain the right people (and the right number of people) for your business, and empower your management team to deal with workplace issues if they arise.

Often employers don’t really think about their employment law obligations until an issue arises in the workplace. We’re here to help when that happens, but we can also help you be prepared to avoid small matters turning into big issues in the first place.

Help! A Personal Grievance….

A personal grievance is more than just a relationship breakdown and loss of productivity, it can really hit in the pocket for employers. We help employers respond to personal grievances, including strategic advice on how to respond, drafting letters and running meetings with the employee, attending mediation, and appearing in the Employment Relations Authority.

>> Download our Employer Guide to Personal Grievances

I’m hiring….

We help businesses to prepare employment agreement templates and supporting workplace policies that work for them. We also help employers reduce their risk, while maximising their flexibility, when hiring new staff, including advice about the right type of employment agreement, 90-day trial periods, probationary periods, visa requirements, and offer letters.

>> Download our Employer Guide to Employment Agreements

I have an employee issue…

Employers and workers are both only human, and inevitably, there will be times when an employee is not quite meeting the standard expected. We help employers with strategy, preparation for investigation meetings, preparing appropriate letters to employees, advice on timeframes and developing performance improvement plans.

>> Download our Employer Guide to Handling Employee Misconduct

I want to hire people from overseas….

If you are looking to hire migrant workers to support your business, we can help. We assist employers to become accredited under the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. Once you have accreditation, we ensure your employment agreements are compliant, and can assist with the job check process and development and classification of role descriptions.

>> Download our Employer Guide to Hiring Workers from Overseas

I need to exit an employee…

Sometimes its clear an employment relationship is not working out. Often employers have decided the outcome they want (to exit an employee) but need help to get there in a compliant way. We work with employers to determine the best route and appropriate fair process to exit an employee, with urgency if the situation demands it. This includes advising on performance management, suspension and warnings, and termination of employment.

>> Download our Employer Guide to Terminating Employment

My staffing needs have changed…

The needs of your business are constantly changing, and sometimes its clear that old team structures or staffing levels are no longer the right fit. Restructuring doesn’t always mean making staff redundant. We can help you build a plan to align your team and structure to your business goals, and provide background support, such as planning meetings and drafting communications to help you roll it out.

>> Download Employer Guide to Restructuring and Redundancies

Chloe runs a small hairdressing salon, and employs two stylists and a receptionist. With the cost of living continually rising, the businesss is going through a hard time. Chloe knows she can’t afford to keep her receptionist Sienna much longer. Trying to do the right thing, Chloe has a chat with Sienna in the salon during a quiet patch one afternoon. She tells her that she’s going to have to have to downsize the business, but there’s no definite timeframe, but that Sienna should start looking for other work now, so Chloe can support her to get a new job in her own time. Sienna seems understanding at the time, but then resigns suddenly on Monday. On Wednesday, Chloe is shocked when she receives an aggressive email from an employment advocate, claiming a personal grievance for constructive dismissal and demanding a settlement of over $10,000! On speaking to her lawyer, Chloe is surprised to find that her well-meaning heads up has actually dropped her in hot water. Together, they make a plan to settle the grievance as efficiently as possible.

Chloe’s story*

Sarah and Ben run the family farm, milking 200 cows in Northland. Their family trust employs a farm hand, Hannah, who lives on the farm in the workers’ house. However, Hannah has been late to the milking shed a few times lately, and seems to always have an excuse to avoid fencing work. Sarah and Ben both work really long hours on and off farm and are feeling frustrated. Ben has zero tolerance for “lazy people” and wants to tell her to pack her bags, but Sarah isn’t so sure. They give their lawyer a call, and with their support in the background, Sarah and Ben meet with Hannah and develop a compliant performance management plan for her which includes training from Ben and regular check-ins. This gives Sarah and Ben options going forward – Hannah has the support needed to pick up her game, or if she doesn’t, there’s a good foundation for taking further disciplinary action if needed.

Ben and Sarah’s story*

Mike employed his friend, Jess, as the office manager for his small printing business, but having known her for years, never got around to having Jess sign a contract. Unfortunately, Jess has been going through a rough patch and is frequently away from work unwell. Mike has tried for months to support Jess, but the toll on the business is becoming too much. Mike feels he has to end Jess’ employment, but without an agreement in place, he realises now that he is at high risk of a grievance. He phones his lawyer for advice. His lawyer helps him to follow the most compliant process he can to establish that Jess is not medically fit to undertake her role, and end her employment. It does take a few weeks, but the process greatly reduces Mike’s risk of a payout down the track. With help, Mike then makes sure that his remaining staff have signed employment agreements to avoid similar issues in the future.

Mike’s story*

Rob is the founder of a small trucking business, who ran into some unexpected issues with his employment contract template. As his business grew from 1 to 12 employees, he relied on a free internet template for employment agreements. But when he had a chat with his lawyer, Rob was surprised to find out that the template had unwittingly put his business at risk. Fuzzy terms about guaranteed hours and misunderstandings about availability hours left him open to employees making legal claims. He also found out that six of his “casual” workers were really permanent part-timers, opening the door to claims for holiday and sick pay. So, Rob worked with his lawyer to create an employment agreement template that was tailored to the needs of his business, and a plan to transfer his employees to the new template in a compliant way.

Rob’s story*

Click here to use our free Employment Law Health check

*Employment relations can be a sensitive area. Details have been changed to protect the identities of our clients. These case studies are typical of the sorts of matters we help our clients with, but any likeness to real people or businesses is purely coincidental.