An example of MBIE employment mediation incorporating tikanga and karakia in a way the participants experienced as constructive, while keeping the mediation focused on resolving the employment dispute.
Industry news, practical commentary, and real-world employment law lessons from the coalface in New Zealand. Short updates, longer opinion pieces, and anonymised stories that highlight what goes wrong (and how to avoid it).
Updates, commentary, and practical lessons from the coalface. This is where I publish industry news, my opinion on employment law issues, and real-world stories (some anonymised, some not) that show how disputes start, how they escalate, and how they can be resolved.
Some articles in this section are short and timely. Others are longer opinion pieces or breakdowns of common failure points I see in practice. If you are looking for structured guides and explainer articles, browse the main articles and topics as well.
Employment disputes are rarely about one single event. They usually build from poor process, poor communication, missing documentation, or decisions that get locked in too early. I use this section to call out patterns I see repeatedly, and to explain the practical reality of what happens in MBIE mediation, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), and sometimes the Employment Court.
If you are in a live dispute, treat deadlines and evidence seriously from day one. For employees, that may include the time limits for raising a Personal Grievance (PG). For employers, that means avoiding rushed responses and preserving the record before memories fade or systems overwrite.
An example of MBIE employment mediation incorporating tikanga and karakia in a way the participants experienced as constructive, while keeping the mediation focused on resolving the employment dispute.
After a settlement recorded under s 149, Shearing NZ resisted compliance with payment obligations and pursued confidentiality-related penalties against Ms Mackey and allegations that her advocate had aided or procured a breach. The dispute therefore combined enforcement of the settlement with an attempted expansion of liability to the employee's representative.
Recurring factual and procedural mistakes seen in ERA disputes, including poor records, unclear allegations, rushed dismissals, weak redundancy consultation and failures to prove loss or mitigation.
A practical framework for distinguishing ordinary misconduct from serious misconduct after the 2026 remedy amendments, with emphasis on the contractual standard, the facts proved and proportionality.
Analysis of the 2026 contribution changes and the continuing need to prove blameworthy employee conduct that contributed to the situation giving rise to the grievance before remedies are reduced or removed.
A consolidated guide to the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026: commencement dates, changes to personal-grievance remedies and contribution, and the transitional question of which law applies to a particular dispute.
A drafting problem in a mediated s 149 settlement where clauses about when agreement became binding did not align with a separate requirement for mediator sign-off, creating an avoidable enforcement dispute.
How prize draws, discounts or other incentives for Google reviews can create problems under Google's review policies and New Zealand consumer law, especially where incentives are hidden or tied to positive sentiment.