Frequently Asked Questions

When hiring your first employee, you must provide a written employment agreement before they start work.

You'll also need to register as an employer with IRD, set up payroll with PAYE deductions, and ensure workplace health and safety requirements are met. Getting these foundations right from the start prevents costly problems later and shows your commitment to doing things properly.

This depends on the real nature of the working relationship, not just what you call it. The Employment Relations Authority looks at factors like control over work, integration into your business, and whether they work only for your business.

Misclassifying an employee as a contractor can result in significant penalties, back payments, and legal issues. We help you determine the correct classification and set up the appropriate agreement that reflects the actual working relationship and protects both parties.

A compliant employment agreement must include: job description and duties, hours of work, wages or salary, place of work, leave entitlements, notice periods, and a plain language explanation of how to resolve employment relationship problems.

It should also cover your specific business needs like confidentiality, restraint of trade (if reasonable), and any unique conditions relevant to the role. We ensure your agreements are both legally compliant and practical for your business operations.

Performance management requires a fair process: clearly communicate expectations, provide specific feedback about where performance falls short, offer support and training, set measurable improvement goals, and document everything.

The key is acting early and maintaining fairness throughout. Rushed or poorly documented performance processes are a common source of personal grievances. We guide you through proper performance management that's fair to the employee and protects your business interests.

Misconduct is when an employee willfully breaches their obligations or behaves inappropriately (e.g., theft, harassment, and deliberate refusal to follow directions). Poor performance is when someone is trying but not meeting the required standards.

The distinction matters because they require different processes. Misconduct may lead to disciplinary action or instant dismissal for serious cases, while poor performance needs a supportive improvement process. Confusing the two can result in unfair dismissal claims.

While trial periods (up to 90 days for employers with fewer than 20 employees) provide more flexibility, you still need to act in good faith. You must give notice as specified in the agreement and have genuine concerns about the employee's suitability.

You can't use trial periods to avoid fair process entirely. The trial period must be properly documented in the employment agreement before the employee starts. We ensure your trial periods are set up correctly and used appropriately.

You must keep accurate wage and time records for at least seven years, including hours worked, wages paid, leave taken, and deductions. You also need to retain employment agreements, tax information, and any documentation related to performance, discipline, or workplace issues.

Good documentation is your best protection if disputes arise. It demonstrates you've acted fairly and followed proper processes. We help you establish record-keeping systems that are compliant but not overly burdensome.

Take it seriously and act quickly. You have a duty of care to investigate complaints properly and ensure a safe working environment. Start by listening to the person who raised the concern, gathering any relevant information, and keeping the people involved apart if the situation requires it.

Conduct a fair investigation, maintain confidentiality where possible, and take appropriate action based on findings. Poor handling of bullying complaints can lead to personal grievances, health and safety penalties, and serious reputational damage. We provide immediate guidance to navigate these sensitive situations properly.

Possibly, but it requires careful handling. You need to determine if the illness is genuine, whether it's likely to continue, and if reasonable accommodations could be made. Request medical certificates and consider obtaining an independent medical assessment.

You must act in good faith, explore all options, and follow a proper process before making any decision to dismiss. Medical incapacity dismissals are complex and frequently result in claims if not handled correctly. We guide you through the appropriate steps to protect both the employee's rights and your business needs.

This is a serious health and safety issue. Your immediate priority is to remove the person from any dangerous situation and ensure they get home safely. Do not allow them to continue working or drive themselves home.

Document everything you observe - specific behaviours, physical signs, time, and witnesses present. If your workplace has a drug and alcohol policy that allows testing, this must be conducted according to proper procedures. Without testing provisions, you'll need to rely on observed behaviour and witness accounts.

Arrange a meeting once the person is sober and follow your disciplinary procedures. The consequences depend on your workplace policies, the evidence available, the role, whether it's a first offence, and safety implications.

We help you manage both the immediate safety concerns and evidential requirements - including how to document observations properly and proceed fairly based on available evidence.

Restructuring must be done for genuine business reasons with a fair process. This means providing affected employees with all necessary and relevant information, giving them adequate time to consider it, consulting meaningfully with them, genuinely considering their feedback, exploring alternatives to redundancy, and using fair selection criteria if choosing between employees.

You must give proper notice, calculate any redundancy compensation correctly, and ensure you're not using restructuring to disguise what's actually a performance or misconduct dismissal. Poorly handled restructures are a major source of personal grievances.

We guide you through compliant restructuring that's fair, transparent, and defensible.

Yes, but restraint of trade clauses must be reasonable to be enforceable. Courts assess whether the restraint is necessary to protect legitimate business interests, reasonable in scope and duration, and not broader than needed.

A six-month restraint covering your immediate geographic area and specific customers might be reasonable for a senior salesperson, while a two-year nationwide restraint for a junior administrator likely wouldn't be. We draft restraint clauses that balance business protection with enforceability.

Your options depend on what restraints were in their employment agreement and whether they've breached confidentiality obligations. Even without specific restraints, employees must act in good faith and cannot use confidential information or actively compete for your clients immediately after leaving.

If you believe restraints are being breached, act quickly and seek legal advice about urgent injunctions. However, prevention is always better than cure: ensure your employment agreements include appropriate protections and your confidential information is properly safeguarded from the start.

Personal grievances can be expensive. Remedies can include up to three months' lost wages, compensation for humiliation and injury to feelings (typically $5,000-$30,000, sometimes more), and reimbursement of lost benefits. You'll also face legal costs, management time, and stress.

More importantly, the reputational damage and impact on your remaining staff can be significant. The good news? Most grievances are preventable by following fair processes and getting advice early. Investing in doing things right from the start is far cheaper than fixing problems later.

Prevention is always the most effective approach. Acting in good faith and getting your employment agreements, policies, and processes right from the start avoids the majority of problems. When issues do arise, getting advice early - before you take action - ensures you handle situations correctly the first time.

Many business owners contact us after they've already acted, only to discover they've inadvertently created legal exposure. Early advice is more cost-effective and less stressful than trying to fix problems after the fact.

For most day-to-day employment matters, an experienced employment specialist provides practical, cost-effective guidance. We handle employment agreements, HR policies, performance management, disciplinary processes, and restructuring.

We'll let you know if your situation requires a lawyer - such as Employment Court proceedings, complex litigation, or highly technical legal issues. Our approach saves you money while ensuring you get expert guidance appropriate to your needs.

We understand that employment issues don't always happen during business hours. We provide urgent support when you need immediate guidance - whether that's serious misconduct, a workplace accident, or an employee making threats.

Contact us and we'll assess the urgency of your situation. For genuine emergencies, we can provide immediate phone guidance to help you take the right first steps and prevent the situation from escalating.

We focus on doing things the right way - fairly, transparently, and in good faith. We don't rely on loopholes or shortcuts that might work in the short term but damage workplace relationships and expose you to risk.

Our clients value our clear, practical advice that helps them build robust processes, make confident decisions, and create positive workplace cultures. We're committed to solutions that protect your business while respecting everyone's rights and building trust with your team.