Employee employment law help · Wellington
Employment Advocate Wellington
We help Wellington employees analyse formal workplace processes, respond to proposed decisions and progress Personal Grievances through negotiation, mediation and the Employment Relations Authority.
Dismissed or facing formal action?
Most Personal Grievances generally need to be raised within 90 days. Save the employment agreement, letters, emails, texts, meeting invitations, notes and any relevant rosters or payslips. If you are thinking about resigning, get advice before doing it if you can.
Employment problems we help with in Wellington
Start with the problem that best matches what has happened at work.
Employment law help in Wellington
Wellington has a high concentration of public-sector, professional, regulatory, technology, health, education and corporate workplaces. Employment disputes in these environments are often document-heavy and can involve policies, delegated decision-making, investigations, consultation records and multiple layers of management or HR advice.
The volume of process can obscure the core legal questions. We reduce the file to the decision under challenge, the employer’s reasons, the information relied on, the employee’s opportunity to respond and the practical consequences. That framework is useful whether the dispute concerns dismissal, disadvantage, redundancy or a disciplinary outcome.
Issues we commonly focus on
- Public-sector and professional employment processes
- Restructuring, change management and redundancy
- Investigations, disciplinary action and performance management
- Document-heavy Personal Grievance, mediation and ERA matters
Areas covered
This is a regional starting point, not a boundary on who can contact us.
Wellington City
Lower Hutt
Upper Hutt
Porirua
Kapiti Coast
Petone
Johnsonville
the wider Wellington region
What happens next
1
Assess
Work out the facts, documents, legal issue, deadline and realistic outcomes.
2
Raise & negotiate
Raise the claim properly and test whether the dispute can be resolved directly.
3
Mediation
Prepare the evidence and position for MBIE employment mediation and settlement discussions.
4
ERA / Court
If resolution is not sensible, progress the claim through the ERA and, where required, the Employment Court.
Employment cases connected to Wellington
Recent Anderson Law case summaries that mention this region, a local workplace, registry or hearing location.
20 Jul 2026
Philip Powell was employed by OH and N Contracting Limited as a site foreman in a logging operation. The ERA accepted there was some genuine business basis for redundancy because the logging work was nearing completion, the company had not secured other work, and the need for workers was reducing. But the dismissal was still unjustified because OH and N did not follow any real good-faith consultation process before ending Mr Powell's employment. The employer also wrongly used annual holiday pay instead of paying notice wages, failed to provide wage and time records when requested, and was ordered to pay compensation, lost wages, unpaid wages, penalties, and to allow limited personal recovery against the director if the company could not pay...
20 Jul 2026
Conner Powell was employed by OH and N Contracting Limited as a forestry worker from November 2022 until his employment ended on redundancy grounds in January 2025. The ERA accepted there was some genuine business basis for redundancy because the logging work was nearing completion, the company had not secured other work, and the need for workers was reducing. But the dismissal was still unjustified because OH and N did not follow a good-faith restructuring process before ending Mr Powell's employment. The employer also wrongly used annual holiday pay instead of notice wages, failed to provide the employment agreement and wage and time records when requested, and was ordered to pay compensation, lost wages, unpaid wages and penalties...
16 Jul 2026
FEC was a beginning principal at a small school. She resigned in August 2023, later claiming she had been constructively dismissed because the school board failed to provide a safe and healthy workplace and failed to support her after an incident involving a parent. The ERA rejected constructive dismissal, finding the school was entitled to rely on the reason given in the resignation letter. However, the Authority found unjustified disadvantage because the board's presiding member twice visited FEC at her home after hours, without prior consent, to deal with school business in circumstances where she had raised safety concerns and was under significant stress. HES was ordered to pay $10,000 compensation...
14 Jul 2026
Qi Sun was employed by Keene Construction Limited as an apprentice builder. After he queried an unpaid $300 apprenticeship-cost payment, the company director texted that there was not going to be a company anymore and told him not to bother coming into work. The ERA found it was reasonable for Mr Sun to understand that he had been dismissed. Keene Construction provided no evidence, filed no reply, did not attend the investigation meeting, and did not justify the dismissal. The Authority awarded lost wages, compensation, wage and holiday pay arrears, and costs...
13 Jul 2026
Blue Hunt worked as a full-time farm assistant for Lance Wakelin. After a heated cowshed exchange, Mr Wakelin later texted that "the ship has sailed", that Mr Hunt's employment was over, and that he had two weeks to move out. The ERA found Mr Hunt was unjustifiably dismissed because no fair process was followed. The Authority also found minimum wage underpayment, unlawful accommodation deductions, no complete wage and time records, and employment-standards breaches. Mr Hunt was awarded compensation, lost wages, wage arrears, holiday pay, reimbursement of excessive lodging deductions, interest, and part of a penalty...
Browse the full employment-law and case library
Use the Anderson Law employment-law library
The regional page is the entry point, not a separate silo. Search the wider guides, ERA decisions and Employment Court material for the issue that actually affects your case.
Nearby and related regions
These are geographically or practically connected regional pages, not a generic island-wide list.
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Want us to look at what happened?
Send the basic facts through the case form. Include the important dates and the documents you already have.
