Before you issue the letter, get the process right.
Senior employment advice for New Zealand employers: disciplinaries, restructures, grievances and exits, handled properly the first time. Every enquiry reviewed personally by Ron McKenzie, Director, 30+ years in the law.
The expensive mistakes happen before you call a lawyer.
A dismissal fair in substance but rushed in process. A warning with no investigation behind it. A restructure decided before consultation began. An angry reply to a grievance letter.
Each one turns a manageable situation into a personal grievance, with lost wages and compensation on the table even where the employee started it.
Your employment advisor on call.
Most employers call a lawyer once, after the damage is done. Retainer clients call first. For a fixed monthly fee:
- Ron and the team on the phone before every people decision, not after.
- Agreements and policies reviewed and kept current.
- Priority response when something urgent lands, from people who know your business.
Senior thinking. Commercially grounded.
You deal with Ron McKenzie and his team directly, not a junior. Ron has spent 30+ years in the law, much of it advising employers through disciplinaries, restructures and grievances. He reviews every enquiry and directs every file.
Behind him is a team, not one lawyer working alone.
And because we also act for employees, we know how a grievance is built, and what the other side will do next.
Ron McKenzie
30+ years' experience. Reviews every enquiry, directs every file.
Farbod Afshar
Experienced litigator; the strength of your case if it goes further.
Stef
Employer-side experience with senior New Zealand companies.
About to act? Talk to us first.
One call before the letter goes out costs a fraction of what a grievance does. Tell us the situation, or call Ron.
Questions before you act
Straight answers to the issues employers most often need resolved quickly.
Nothing, yet. Do not reply, do not call the employee in for a meeting, and do not delete or alter anything. Note the date the letter arrived and any deadline it sets, gather the employment agreement and the file, and call us. The first reply sets the tone for everything that follows, and we will help you get it right.
Yes. Call us today. We will look at the allegations, the notice you gave and the process so far, and tell you whether to go ahead, adjourn or start again. A short delay to get the process right is far cheaper than a meeting that has to be unpicked later.
No. It is one of the reasons employers come to us. We see grievances from both sides, so we know how they are built, where employers get caught and what settles them. We run a conflict check before taking on any matter and will never act against an existing client.
Not always, but the cost of getting it wrong is high. A restructure has to be a genuine business decision, with real consultation before the outcome is decided, and the paper trail has to show it. Talk to us before the proposal goes out, and the process is usually short and uneventful.
We agree the scope and fee before any work starts, and for defined jobs (a disciplinary process, a restructure, a response to a grievance) we quote a fixed fee where we can. No open-ended hourly bills and no surprises.
Most disputes settle at MBIE mediation, a confidential meeting with an independent mediator. If a matter does go to the Employment Relations Authority, we prepare the evidence and represent you at the investigation meeting. We tell you what a realistic outcome looks like at each stage, so you can make a commercial decision rather than an emotional one.
No. We act for employers across New Zealand. Most advice happens by phone and email, and we travel where the matter needs us.
We take on a limited number of clients at a time, so that every one of them gets the Director's attention. If we cannot take you on right now, it is a question of capacity, not of your business, and we will point you somewhere sensible.
