Beginnings & Endings: The Legal Framework for Managing the Start and End of Employment Relationships
12 October, Museum Hotel, Wellington
About
The recruitment and termination process can be harrowing as a wrong decision or wrong legal process when recruiting staff are not only costly but stressful and damaging to the company’s goodwill.
Beginning and ending an employee’s employment have been identified as some of the most difficult things for managers to deal with and some of the most risky areas of employee relations.
Recruitments and terminations are drastic thus it has to be fair, warranted and managed carefully. There will be several considerations employers will have to make to ensure that the prospective employee is suitable and appropriate for the job.
Outline
Beginnings
Recruitment Issues
• What questions can be asked of an applicant?
- Human Rights Act and Privacy Act
- Disability issues
• Criminal records check
• Pre-employment medical testing or drug testing
• Conducting reference checks
• Dealing with misrepresentation by an applicant
• Cases involving misrepresentation
• The importance of application forms
Offering Employment
• Letters of offer and draft employment agreements
• What is the right type of employment:
- Permanent employee, fixed term or casual?
- Independent contractor?
• Individual employment agreement or collective?
- Collective coverage issues and the 30 day rule;
- Process under Employment Relations Act 2000
• Negotiating terms and conditions of employment
Restraint of Trade Issues
• Determining a new employee’s restraint obligations
• What risks does the new employer also face
• Working with a valid restraint clause
Endings
Understanding the Test of Justification
• Section 103A of the Employment Relations Act
• Understanding the following:
- good reasons for dismissal (substantive justification)
- fair process (procedural fairness)
Dismissal for Repeated Misconduct/Serious Misconduct
• Minimising risks of unjustified dismissal
• The investigation process
• Complying with employment agreements and HR policies
• Rules for suspending an employee
• When can constructive dismissal arise?
• Disparity of treatment
• Case law examples
Dismissal for Continued Poor Performance
• Initial steps to take to manage poor performance
• Process in the event of continued poor performance
• Key case law
Implementing Redundancy
• Duty of good faith – what does it mean?
• Consultation requirements
• When is redundancy substantively justified?
Facilitators
Bridget Smith & Emma Warden
Bridget Smith
Bridget is an employment lawyer, with significant litigation experience, who advises on the full range of employment law issues including both contentious and non-contentious matters for a range of corporate, government and state sector clients. Bridget has significant litigation experience, having appeared in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, Court of Appeal, District Court and High Court. She regularly attends mediation on behalf of clients and is focussed on achieving pragmatic and commercially driven outcomes for clients.
Emma Warden
Emma is an employment lawyer who provides legal advice in all areas of employment law including health and safety, public law and education law Emma's areas of expertise include drafting employment documentation, representing both private and public sector employers at mediation, the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court, and providing legal opinions on employment, health and safety and public law issues.
Katie Elkin
Katie is an employment law specialist with a wealth of experience advising high profile private and public sector clients. Katie regularly represents clients in litigation including in the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court. She also has extensive experience in attending mediations and negotiating private settlements.
In-house Training
Prices and Registration
| Dates | Location | Standard price | Early bird price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 October | Museum Hotel, Wellington | $1295 + GST | Not available | Register |
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