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When you contact us, one of our consultants will assess your case free of charge. If necessary, they will then assign it to the Advocate best suited to help your situation.
An employment advocate will contact you within 48 hours to discuss your matter in more detail.
After an initial discussion, you will receive an email containing our terms of engagement and authority to act form.
We must obtain your consent before we can legally speak on your behalf.
Your advocate will get straight to work as soon as you have accepted our terms and given them authority to act on your behalf.
This may include attending any related disciplinary meetings, negotiations for exit packages or raising a personal grievance with your employer or former employer.
Typically, once your advocate indicates that you have their representation, the other party is required to contact your advocate directly.
This means you will no longer need to deal directly with them, which will take a lot of the stress away from you.
If you agree for your case to be settled during this informal stage, your advocate will draft an agreement into a legally binding document, signed by both parties.
Your case will then be filed with the Ministry of Business and Innovation and Employment.
If it proves impossible to solve the issue informally with the other party, then we may file for mediation for you.
It may take about 4 – 8 weeks to get a date for mediation.
Mediation takes place in a neutral setting with an impartial mediator provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Your Advocate will be with you to present your case. Both parties will have the opportunity to have their say. Usually after that, the mediator will then separate the parties into a separate room.
From here your Advocate will have a private discussion with you and may seek to negotiate a settlement. If successful, the mediator will have both parties sign a confidential and legally binding agreement.
If mediation is unsuccessful, or your employer refuses to attend mediation, then your Advocate will discuss with you your chances of winning in the Employment Relations Authority.
If you decide to proceed and file with the Employment Relations Authority, your advocate will then file on your behalf.
This stage may take several months for a date to be confirmed for an investigation meeting. At this meeting your advocate will support you, and any witnesses you have, throughout the process.
At the end of the investigation meeting, the Authority will determine an outcome for the case. It will also determine how much your employer needs to pay you if you are successful.
