Employment Law New Zealand

Unfair dismissal, redundancy, 90-day trials, constructive dismissal, personal grievances, mediation and Employment Relations Authority matters.

Employment Law

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Employee employment law help · West Coast

Employment Advocate West Coast

We assist West Coast employees remotely from the first workplace problem through to Personal Grievance, mediation and Employment Relations Authority proceedings where necessary.

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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 West Coast

Start with the problem that best matches what has happened at work.

Unfair dismissalDismissed for misconduct, performance, incapacity or another stated reason.

RedundancyRestructure, consultation, selection, redeployment and whether the job was genuinely redundant.

Personal GrievanceRaising the grievance, evidence, remedies, negotiation and the next procedural step.

Constructive dismissalPressure to resign, intolerable circumstances and the risks of resigning before getting advice.

Disciplinary processAllegations, investigations, meetings, warnings, suspension and proposed dismissal.

Unjustified disadvantageWarnings, reduced hours, changes to duties, demotion, suspension and other adverse action.

Employment law help in West Coast

West Coast workplaces are geographically dispersed and include mining and industrial work, trades, transport, tourism, hospitality, health, local services and smaller businesses. Employees can be working significant distances from advisers or formal employment institutions, so reliable remote preparation matters.

A strong employment case is built from the agreement, communications, meeting records and the employer’s actual decision — not from how close the employee lives to a major centre. We organise that evidence remotely and plan any mediation or Authority appearance around the stage the dispute actually reaches.

Issues we commonly focus on

Dismissal and disciplinary disputes
Hours, roster and disadvantage claims
Operational restructuring and redundancy
Remote Personal Grievance, mediation and ERA preparation

Areas covered

This is a regional starting point, not a boundary on who can contact us.

Greymouth Westport Hokitika Reefton Karamea Franz Josef Fox Glacier the wider West Coast region

What happens next

Assess

Work out the facts, documents, legal issue, deadline and realistic outcomes.

Raise & negotiate

Raise the claim properly and test whether the dispute can be resolved directly.

Mediation

Prepare the evidence and position for MBIE employment mediation and settlement discussions.

ERA / Court

If resolution is not sensible, progress the claim through the ERA and, where required, the Employment Court.

Employment mediation Employment Relations Authority

Employment cases connected to West Coast

Recent employment-law case summaries that mention this region, a local workplace, registry or hearing location.

8 Apr 2026

Ben Devine v Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora [2025] NZERA 206 - nurse's 'casual' status rejected; unpaid stand-down unjustified disadvantage; reinstatement ordered; $15,000 compensation plus lost wages

Ben Devine had historically held permanent nursing hours but Health New Zealand later relied on documents describing part of his work as casual and left him on an unpaid stand-down. The case concerned the real nature of the employment relationship and whether the employer could remove work and pay without a proper process.

29 Sep 2025

Crawford Morris v Fire and Emergency New Zealand [2025] NZERA 612 - summary dismissal held unjustified; reinstatement declined; $20,000 compensation after contribution

Fire and Emergency summarily dismissed Crawford Morris after complaints about interactions with a female volunteer firefighter, including comments about physical capability and a later dispute over protective clothing. The ERA examined whether insensitive conduct reached the serious-misconduct threshold.

Browse the full employment-law and case library

Search employment law cases and guides

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.

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Nearby and related regions

These are geographically or practically connected regional pages, not a generic island-wide list.

View all New Zealand locations

Nelson & Tasman Christchurch & Canterbury South Canterbury & Timaru Dunedin & Otago South Island

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.

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