Employment Law Services

Agreements and Workplace Documentation

To ensure employers are able to comply with employment and maximise their ability to manage employment issues, it is critical that employers are correctly advised in relation to their employment law documentation. Shauna has a wealth of experience in reviewing and drafting all types of employment law documentation including:

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• Pre-employment documentation

• Individual employment agreements

• Fixed term and casual employment agreements

• Collective employment agreements

• Trial periods

• Restraints of trade and protection of confidential information

• Work Rules and Employment Handbooks

• Workplace Policies including Drug and Alcohol Policies

• Employee Remuneration packages
   

Shauna also advises on and drafts independent contractor agreements.

Employment Relationships

The employment relationship places employers under considerable obligations under the law. Shauna listens to her clients and works with them to find constructive and pragmatic solutions to managing a variety of workplace issues, including:

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• Workplace bullying

• Workplace stress

• Workplace disputes

• Performance management

• Conducting serious misconduct and misconduct investigations

• Independent investigations

• Managing employee medical incapacity

• Sexual and racial harassment claims

• Discrimination claims

• Dismissals and constructive dismissals

• Personal grievances

• Addressing abandonment of employment

Workplace Investigations

Shauna has over twenty years’ experience in undertaking independent investigations, which places her amongst New Zealand’s most experienced employment law investigators.  Shauna has conducted numerous independent investigations since 1999.  Over the past few years and as the demand for independent investigations has increased, this work now makes up a significant proportion of her practice.

The nature of her work in this area includes:

• Investigations into bullying, work related stress, sexual harassment and serious misconduct;

• Multi complainant and multi respondent investigations;

• Industry specific investigations (for example, multiple local government and health sector investigations, mining, transport sector and Not for Profit investigations);

• Lengthy complex investigations with multiple reports.

She is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators and attends their conferences and training events.  Shauna is a regular speaker at conferences and training events.

Restructuring and Redundancies

Shauna understands that businesses need to keep changing to take account of the commercial environment. Shauna has successfully advised and represented numerous employers in relation to business change, including:

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• Development of change proposals

• Restructuring

• Redundancy

• Selection processes

• Managing the transition for vulnerable workers

• Drafting of special conditions for employees for business Agreements for Sale and Purchase

• Transfer of employees on a sale of business

Union Issues and Collective Bargaining

Unlike many employment lawyers, Shauna has extensive experience acting as an employer bargaining agent in collective bargaining and assisting employers in managing Union relationships including developing long term strategies to manage problematic union relationships. Shauna’s work in this area includes:

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• Collective bargaining

• Multi employer collective bargaining

• Subsequent party bargaining

• Bargaining Process Agreements

• Strikes and lockouts

• Union Access

• Negotiating Drug and Alcohol Policies with Unions

• Advising on good faith obligations

• Development of bargaining and union strategy

Legal Representation

Shauna has represented clients in relation to numerous employment relationship problems, personal grievances, disputes and breach of contract claims, in the following forums:

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• Mediation

• District Court

• Employment Relations Authority

• Employment Court

• High Court

• The Human Rights Review Tribunal

Employment Legislation

New Zealand boats an extensive compliment of employment law legislation. Shauna is conversant with and able to provide employers with comprehensible and cost effective advice in relation to the following legislation:

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• Employment Relations Act

• Holidays Act

• Minimum Wage Act

• Wages Protection Act

• Privacy Act

• Human Rights Act

• Health and Safety in Employment Act

• Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act

• Kiwisaver Act

• Official Information Act

• Local Government Act

• Education Act
   

Shauna also undertakes comprehensive human resources audits.