Employees are one of your organisation’s greatest assets, but also a risk. We’ll help you strategically manage that risk.
Ranked Tier 1 by international legal directory, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, our employment team is one of the largest in New Zealand. We are also the only team with an established and well-regarded practice in both Auckland and Wellington that operates as a seamless national practice.
We are trusted advisers to numerous large employers both in the public and private sectors. We pride ourselves on understanding your business, which allows us to give you advice that is practical, easy to understand, commercial, and easily implemented.
As a member of the international MinterEllison Legal Group, our firm has a global network of offices so we can connect you with experts to assist with your global HR and legal needs.
We also work alongside our other practice areas to provide seamless advice on transactional matters, health and safety in the construction space, tax, intellectual property, and technology/financial services.
We’ll make sure you are kept updated with the latest employment developments by providing regular training courses and seminars, plus e-newsletter updates.
We partner with our clients to support throughout the employment lifecycle and can assist you with all employment law related matters, including:
The breadth and capability within the team at MinterEllisonRuddWatts is very impressive. They have the experience and capability to support us across health and safety, human rights and general employment.The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023
Acting for Fonterra in a high-stakes interim reinstatement application in the Employment Court made by a former employee who had been dismissed on the grounds of incompatibility. We successfully persuaded the Court to maintain the position put in place by the Employment Relations Authority in order that the workforce could continue without disruption.
Advising Oranga Tamariki on a variety of employment matters involving actual or potential litigation in the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court, including cases involving termination of employment for use of force against young people in care.
Providing ongoing support and advice to The Warehouse Group on contentious and non-contentious matters, including union disputes, strikes, collective bargaining, privacy breach responses, workplace investigations, Holidays Act compliance, whistle-blower complaints, and incentive schemes. We provided urgent strategic advice on The Warehouse Group’s COVID-19 response. It was one of the first to offer employee incentives to encourage vaccination and entered the Government approved trial of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).
Advising Deloitte on both the privacy and employment law issues on a dispute with a highly litigious individual which escalated to the Employment Relations Authority. Successfully defending all aspects of the claims and defending an appeal in the Employment Court.
Assisting NZX listed Metlifecare with the acquisition of six retirement villages across the North Island of New Zealand. This complex transaction involved multiple unions, collective bargaining issues, vulnerable employees, and work visa variations. We provided consistent, clear, and commercially pragmatic advice and support, including using technology to assist Metlifecare in issuing new employment agreements to all transferring employees in a tight timeframe – utilising our relationship with Law Hawk to enable Metlifecare to meet commercial deadlines of the transaction.
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Our lawyers provide clients with clear, strategic and commercial solutions that create lasting impacts to their business