John is a litigation Partner specialising in employment law. From employment litigation to strategic employment advice, John advises on all aspects of industrial and employment law.
As well as providing strategic employment advice, John attends mediations regularly and frequently represents clients in the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court as well as appearing in the District Court as defence counsel for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) prosecutions.
John also advises a range of high profile commercial clients on all aspects of change management whether as a result of acquisitions, mergers or reorganisations. For example, he has assisted Fonterra with its change to becoming an integrated business in New Zealand and a significant global operation. This has included advising on the global outsourcing of Fonterra’s IT systems and the global restructure of its “back office” systems in more than 20 jurisdictions.
John advises many of New Zealand's top companies on employment law issues including:
Superannuation, including KiwiSaver and, in particular, employers' obligations under the KiwiSaver Act
Disciplinary and personal grievance hearings
Collective bargaining
Disputes between unions and employers
Employment contracts and service agreements
Termination packages
Workplace-related stress/injuries
Restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses
Business reorganisations and redundancy programmes
Consultancy, agency and other non-typical working arrangements
Mergers and acquisitions, transfer of business issues
Health and safety
Managing all employment law issues for Fonterra Co-operative Group
Advising Telecom New Zealand on all employment law issues
Advising Fairfax New Zealand on all employment law issues
Advising Fletcher Building and its subsidiaries on employment issues advising on and defending health and safety prosecutions
Auckland District Law Society Employment Law Committee - Member
Admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of England and Wales
