Recent Cases resolved by us A mid level engineer at a large well known liquor company was offered a redundancy package in the mid $20,000 range. Although this is above average, because there were concerns about the genuineness of the redundancy we were able to raise a personal grievance claim. The client was very pleasantly surprised when we were able to negotiate an exit package that not only increased the amount on offer but resulted in a large part being paid tax free, leaving the client far better off from having approached us. The case was opened and closed in the same week. A clerk had been in her job for about 3 years. A change in manager caused problems. Our client's work was taken from her without her consent, and given to another employee. The manager wanted to force our client out. We raised personal grievances and successfully negotiated an excellent exit package. A mid level technical employee made a threatening offensive comment to his coworker. The threat was interpreted as a threat to kill and the employer dismissed our client. Our client spoke English as  a second language and he had not understood that what he said was as offensive as it came across. The employer failed to take this into account in dismissing our client. Despite the employer being adamant that it would not negotiate we negotiated a substantial tax free lump sum  settlement. A shop manager was dismissed with no warning as the employer accused him of theft. The employer failed to give our client the opportunity to respond to the allegations or to see the evidence against him. The client was adamant that he was not a thief. Our unjustified dismissal personal grievance resulted in an apology, acceptable references and a  cash payout. A lower level sales person was accused of trying to set up a competing business during work hours. We were asked to accompany him to the disciplinary meeting. It was expected that the employee would have been dismissed had we not become involved. We were able to negotiate a financial settlment of about 2 months pay and a resignation (rather than a dismissal) so that the client could seek new work. The negotiation was completed and the agreement signed during the meeting time. A senior bank employee felt that her employer was trying to performance manage her out. She hated going to work as every day brought new aggravation. From the employer's side, they felt that they were dealing with a difficult, non performing employee. The parties had a mutual interest in bringing the employment relationship to an end as soon as possible and in a way that was win-win for both parties. Following one workplace meeting, we successfully negotiated a package in the $40,000 range (some of it tax free) and the employee left the bank. A public servant had resigned her secure job as she had an exciting job offer from a well known private sector employer. Before she was due to start, the client was told that the offered job no longer existed and that an offer had never been made. The law is clear that employment protection laws apply to people once they have accepted an offer of employment, even if they have not yet started work. The employer was difficult and refused compensation so we arranged a mediation. When we arrived at the mediation the employer's lawyer admitted that the employer was wrong and presented a good settlement offer - all before the mediation had even started. A senior sales person in the financial sector did so well that their commissions resulted in an income above that of senior managers in the company. Those senior managers became envious and decided to make illegal, unilateral changes to the sales person's conditions of employment in order to reduce his earnings (not understanding that a top performing employee is actually good for the company). Naturally, the employer's high handed actions undermined our client's wish to remain with the employer. We managed to negotiate a very high level settlement which compensated the employee well for the loss of his top tier job. Serious performance concerns were raised about our employee, an education professional. Although an employer and an employee will always have a different viewpoint, there was some substance to the concerns. We successfully negotiated a settlement equivalent to about two months pay. The matter was resolved with respect and the parties hugged each other when the deal was made. A chief executive of a community organisation had been happy in her work for 5 years. A new board of directors changed that overnight. The board took it upon itself to deliberately interfere in management decisions and to undermine our client by giving work directions directly to lower level employees. The board's actions were wrong but what they signified was that they were trying to force our client out. We find that broken relationships cannot usually be fixed. We successfully negotiated an exit package of about 3 months salary plus a substantial tax free amount to cover our client's hurt and humiliation. A mid level manager was  experiencing bullying in the work place and her complaints were not dealt with by senior managers. She became depressed and deeply stressed. Eventually the client had to take antidepressants and was off work for several weeks because of her stress levels. Her marriage suffered. Because of the client's mental state she found it difficult to see her employment situation clearly. We were able to gently help the client to move forward with her life by negotiating an acceptable exit package which included a good financial payment as well as appropriate recognition from the employer in the form of a genuine reference and a heart felt farewell morning tea. A shop assistant was caught red handed on a security camera pocketing the employer's money. We were called to the disciplinary meeting at short notice. The employer had followed the correct process and there was little doubt about the client's actions. Our involvement was still a success as instead of being dismissed for theft and then marched off the premises, and facing criminal charges, we managed to negotiate a dignified (but prompt ) exit with the employee being able to resign instead of being dismissed. The above are just a few examples of the thousands of cases that we have successfully handled. We have acted for employees at all levels, ranging from chief executives, to mid level employees, to entry level clerical and manual workers. In almost all cases our involvement has resulted in the client ending up better off than if they had tried to resolve things without us. Not only are our clients better off financially, we also relieve them of the stress of having to deal directly with a stressful situation. Please contact us to discuss your situation. We would love to help you. Email: info@worklaw.co.nz or telephone: Auckland 5235284