How to use this Employers Guide

Building successful employment relationships is important and makes good business sense. Organisations with good employment relationships tend to be more successful.

When problems emerge, they are best resolved promptly by the parties themselves. That is more likely when relationships are generally good.

Most employers and employees do a good job of preventing problems or resolving them by dealing with each other honestly, openly and with mutual respect.

Yet both employers and employees can feel intimidated when differences arise and may sometimes believe the cards are stacked against them. This can lead to actions that make it more difficult to resolve the problem effectively.

This guide has a companion resource, How to Hire, which is designed to start the relationship off on a sound footing.

This guide starts where How to Hire finishes – by outlining the information and systems that should be established as the employment relationship begins.

It then looks at good practice in dealing with the issues that most often lead to problems in the employment relationship.

Appendices offer four checklists to help with the most common issues:

• Performance management and dealing with potential problems.
• Managing problems with behaviour or relationships.
• Investigating serious misconduct.
• Restructuring and redundancy.

In employment relations, good process is essential if you want to make good business decisions and reduce the risk of problems ending up in mediation or in court, where you may incur costs for advisors, litigation and settlement.

While the information in this guide describes the successful approaches of many New Zealand employers, it is only a guide.

• Getting off on the right foot
• When problems arise
• Taking action
• Checklist for using a performance management system and dealing with potential problems
• Checklist for managing problems with behaviour or relationships
• Checklist for investigating serious misconduct
• Checklist for restructuring and redundancy

Disclaimer & Acknowledgement

The material featured on this page was sourced directly from the Department of Labour and is subject to Crown copyright protection.

The Crown copyright protected material may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued to others, the source and copyright status should be acknowledge.

These guidelines provide general information and guidance. The Employment Relations Centre does not accept any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, equity or tort, or under any other legal principle, for any direct or indirect losses or damage of any kind arising from the use of this guide. This includes any action taken as a result of reliance on any part or all of, the information in this guide. It is also noted that:
1. The Employment Relations Centre may change, add to, delete from, or otherwise amend the content of these guidelines without notice.
2. The Employment Relations Centre gives no warranties, guaranties or undertakings as to results that may be achieved from use of the information contained in these guidelines.
3. These guidelines are not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity nor are they professional or legal advice.