Most employment cases that go to mediation are resolved there. The mediation will finish with a binding agreement. 

Usually the agreement provides for the payment  of money by the employer to the employee, and other things. It is rare for our clients to be let down by their former employer, however, occasionally it happens. The employee is not paid or they don’t receive their certificate of service or the employee finds out that the employer has failed to keep the settlement confidential. 

What can you do if this happens to you? An application can be made to the Employment Relations Authority for a compliance order which will force the employer to do what they should have done. The ERA can also impose a penalty on the employer and award you costs. If you have a mediation settlement that hasn’t been honoured by the employer please talk to us. We can get everything sorted for you even if you went to mediation with another representative.

We can come to your mediation anywhere in New Zealand. For mediations outside of Auckland a travelling cost will apply. We keep this as low as possible and do not charge for our time in travelling. If you are somewhere we need to fly to, it is often easiest if you buy an electronic ticket for us to use. Budget tickets are usually available which means that the travelling cost for us to get to your mediation, anywhere in New Zealand, could be around $100.

We try to accommodate short notice mediations. If you have a mediation coming up, please contact us to see if we can help. For most mediations we can work on a no win no fee basis. If we can’t help on that basis we can offer a low cost fixed price for the entire process.

When considering an exit package, or any kind of negotiated settlement, several factors need to be considered:

Lost wages. Usually 3 months is the maximum. There are some exceptions. Commonly 1-2 months are offered.

Section 123(1)(c)(i) tax free payments for hurt and humiliation. Common amounts range from $5,000-$10,000. Sometimes they are lower – depending on the circumstances of the case and the employer, however, we have had success with obtaining much higher settlements of over $40,000. Care needs to be taken in structuring these settlements right. If done wrong they could expose you to unwanted attention from the IRD together with substantial tax penalties.

Costs. Sometimes an explicit amount is agreed for your costs, other times a global settlement amount will be agreed and your costs will form one part of that amount.

Benefits: for example, medical insurance, superannuation schemes, EAP assistance. The parties need to agree how and when these will finish being the employer’s responsibility.

Protecting your reputation: issues here include references, agreements not to say anything negative about the former employee, providing third parties with agreed reasons for leaving, removal of warnings from your employment file, converting a dismissal into a resignation, and apologies.

Everyone has different needs in terms of what they need to obtain out of a settlement in order to allow them to move on with dignity. Please contact us if we can help.

Problems in the employment relationship often lead to the employer and employee attending mediation at the Department of Labour. If the issues are resolved the parties will sign a “record of settlement.” Agreements reached privately can also be signed off by a mediator which then gives them the same legal status as a settlement reached at mediation.

These settlements are legally binding. Almost always they contain provisions regarding confidentiality and for the payment of money by the employer to the employee. In the recent case of Joumaa v Pita Doctors Ltd the employer failed to make payment on the due date because it was experiencing serious financial difficulties. The Employment Relations Authority punished the employer’s failure by ordering that it pay a further $300 to Mr. Joumaa. Had it not been for the fact that the employer was experiencing financial hardship; the penalty would probably have been much greater. In our experience, most employers take their obligations under these agreements seriously, and it is rare that there are difficulties once an agreement has been reached, however, if there are difficulties something can be done about it.