Workforce Solutions
The questions that arrive once you have a team.
At Matt and Zen we advise employers on the work that comes after hiring: policies, restructures, obligations to staff, and the paperwork that has to hold up when it is examined.
Most of it is manageable in advance and expensive in arrears. A restructure done in the wrong order, or a policy nobody was consulted on, creates the grievance it was meant to avoid.
Where a business hires from overseas, employment and immigration run together. We keep both in view rather than solving one and creating a problem in the other.
Scope
We can assist with the following, and more.
Policies and process
- Workplace policies and handbooks
- Disciplinary and performance processes
- Investigations into conduct at work
- Records that will hold up if they are examined
Changing the business
- Restructuring and redundancy, and the order it has to happen in
- Consultation obligations
- Transferring staff on a sale of business
- Changes to hours, duties or location
Obligations
- Health and safety duties
- Holiday and leave entitlements
- Payroll compliance reviews
- Privacy of employee information
Hiring from overseas
- Employer accreditation and the obligations attached to it
- Job checks and the paperwork behind them
- Where immigration status affects employment decisions
Hiring from overseas
The first two checks belong to the employer.
New Zealand’s main employer-assisted work visa is not one application by the worker. It runs in stages, and the first of them are the employer’s.
That changes where things go wrong. A worker can meet every requirement and still be stuck, because the employer is not accredited or the role has not been checked.
We act on the employer side of that, alongside the employment advice that goes with it.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Do we need written policies?
Not for everything, but you need a process you actually follow. A policy that is ignored is worse than none, because it sets a standard you have then failed.
What order does a restructure have to happen in?
Proposal, consultation, genuine consideration, then decision. Deciding first and consulting afterwards is the most common and most expensive mistake we see.
Is redundancy compensation required?
Only where the agreement provides for it. What is required in every case is a genuine reason and a fair process.
Do staff transfer when we buy a business?
It depends on the structure of the sale and on the agreements in place. There are obligations either way, and they affect timing, so raise it early.
We are hiring a migrant worker. What do we need?
Employer accreditation, a checked role, and employment terms that meet New Zealand minimums. The first two are on you, not the worker.
Can we manage someone out quietly?
Not safely. A process with no record behind it tends to become a personal grievance with no defence behind it.