New Zealand's Largest Employment Relations Specialist

Be compliant and in control – our employment relations team of lawyers, advisors and consultants provides a full range of employment law and employment relations services.

0800 300 362
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We provide end-to-end employment relations solutions for New Zealand businesses

We provide end-to-end employment relations solutions for New Zealand businesses

Restructures and redundancies

We can support you to plan and deliver an impartial process that effectively communicates and manages your people along the way.

Personal grievances and dispute resolution

We can minimise your stress and time with early dispute resolution, mediation or representation at the ERA or Employment Court.

Disciplinaries, performance and medical incapacity

We can support you to ensure that you have the correct procedural frameworks in place to conduct fair and reasonable process that reduces your risk of costly personal grievances.

Employment agreements and policies

We tailor documents to your business and industry needs, including any proposed inclusion(s) and appropriate clauses to protect your business.

Independent workplace investigations and mediations

We are licensed and experienced, providing a fair and impartial service for bullying and harassment allegations or serious misconduct. 

Collective bargaining

We have specialists who can help manage your union relationship and give assistance developing win-win solutions.

Restructures and redundancies

We can support you to plan and deliver an impartial process that effectively communicates and manages your people along the way.

Personal grievances and dispute resolution

We can minimise your stress and time with early dispute resolution, mediation or representation at the ERA or Employment Court.

Disciplinaries, performance and medical incapacity

We can support you to ensure that you have the correct procedural frameworks in place to conduct fair and reasonable process that reduces your risk of costly personal grievances.

Employment agreement and policies

We tailor documents to your business and industry need including any proposed inclusions(s) and appropriate clauses to protect your business. 

Independent workplace investigations and mediations

We are licensed and experienced, providing a fair and impartial service for bullying and harassment allegations or serious misconduct. 

Collective bargaining

We have specialists who can help manage your union relationship and give assistance developing win-win solutions.

Get in touch to book a consultation

AdviceLine is the gateway to your solutions

Call our Member-only AdviceLine as often as you need. Our in-house team are available to answer your questions, connect you with lawyers or consultants, and direct you towards relevant services and resources.

0800 300 362

Who we are

We are employment law specialists

We work for employers only

We offer Member-only rates

We are backed by 138+ years of experience

We are New Zealand's largest ER specialist

Get in touch to book a consultation
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How our employment relations support works

Whatever stage you're at with your employment concern, we can support you.

AdviceLine

Make informed decisions for your business with practical support from our Member-only AdviceLine. Call us on 0800 300 362.

Resource library

Set yourself up for success with our comprehensive library of guides, templates, webinars, and policies that will help you make the right decision for your business.

Expert support

Connect with our expert lawyers and consultants at Member-only rates. We can support you with a full range of employment issues.

ER training

Gain confidence in the complex with our Employment Relations courses covering everything compliance. 

Get in touch to book a consultation

Trusted by over 8,000 New Zealand business owners

"We have used the services of Ronda Tokona several times for different queries relating to our business. Ronda’s expertise as well as knowledge and being able to explain things in a clear and easy style. We appreciate with her busy schedule she is able to attend to our matters with urgency, which is much appreciated. I would definitely recommend using the EMA Legal team, especially Ronda, this has been a great investment and also peace of mind so that we can focus on what really matters for our business.”
"Ruthi was extremely patient, professional and knowledgeable. Her manner was very reassuring and she keep us up to date with progress. Would have no hesitation to engage Ruthi again. Thank you."
"The EMA provide, prompt, thorough and efficient service. Their staff are highly knowledgeable and extremely helpful."
"I find that the EMA AdviceLine always provides you with immediate and clear guidance on HR issues enabling you to take the right course of action."
"I find the AdviceLine service to be prompt and knowledgeable. Efficient with sending any resource recommended. It’s good to speak with people who can assist immediately."
"The person I spoke with was very helpful and was able to offer excellent advice which helped me be able to support an employee through a sensitive situation."
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Meet the team that keeps you compliant and in control

We have a team of advisors, lawyers and consultants who do more than take a case – they’ll help you solve problems and build your business and a future.

Mauro Barsi

Head of Legal, Consultancy and General Counsel

Beverley Edwards

Senior Solicitor

David Graham

Solicitor

Sean Hanna

AdviceLine Team Manager

Clive Thomson

Collective Bargaining Specialist

Chris Longman

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Lisa Oakley

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Apurv Shukla

Employer Advisor

Murray Peat

Employer Advisor

Tilly Smith

Employer Advisor

Aimee Graham

Employer Advisor

Jasmine Lim

Employer Advisor

Jordyn Thurlow

Employer Advisor

Jacob Lane

Employer Advisor

Jenny Ung

Employer Advisor

Sarah Selwood

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Jason Tuck

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Bruce Lotter

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Russell Drake

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Toni Stanaway

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Myriam Heynen

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Murray Broadbelt

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Phil Hughes

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Get in touch

It’s easier to succeed when you’re compliant and in control of your business. 

Submit this quick confidential contact form and one of our team members will be in touch. 

Not an EMA Member? That's ok, we can still help.
Enquire today about your options.

Not an EMA Member? That's ok, we can still help.
Enquire today about your options.

Get in touch

Get the right employment relations advice, right now

As New Zealand’s largest employment relations specialist, our consultants and specialists support you to get it right before it goes wrong. But if the moment of prevention is disappearing in the rear-view mirror, we offer mediation, representation, advice and resources.

Arm yourself with our online library of tools, templates, policies and guides that will help you make the right decision for your business.

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Consultants for
the complex and contentious

Connect with our expert consultants and employment lawyers at Member-only rates. Investing upfront in expertise can prevent denting your reputation with the ERA.

Whatever your issue, call our AdviceLine team on 0800 300 362 and we’ll work with you to find the best solution.

Call AdviceLine

End-to-end mediation

Our accredited EMA mediators offer an all-encompassing service. Wherever you find yourself in the life cycle of a dispute, our goal is to reach a sustainable resolution. 

We can mitigate conflicts before they escalate – we are your safety barrier to halt conflict in its tracks.

If prevention is no longer an option, we can facilitate resolution through constructive agreement in disputes, between both employee-employee, and with the employer.

Our mediation service also provides post-investigation relationship restoration.

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Employment Relations Lawyers & Consultants

Our legal team can partner with your business and provide you with a full range of employment law and ER service at special Member-only rates. We can represent you during investigations and mediations, or in front of the ERA and Employment Court. 

You will also have access to our library of over 250 free and paid resources at Member-only rates, including up-to-date policies, templates, and guides on everything from employment agreements, to leave and absenteeism, through to disciplinary issues. 

Our experienced consulting team are here to help you with your workforce. Our consultants have multisectoral experience and can provide you with customised solutions across a range of ER and HR issues.

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Mauro Barsi

Head of Legal, Consultancy and General Counsel

Mauro is an experienced advocate for businesses and employers and a trusted advisor when you need it most. He brings a powerful mix of practical knowledge in Employment Relations and Human Resources, litigation experience; and time spent as a senior leader in both the public and private sectors, all to help resolve your issues quickly and effectively. 

Having worked in-house with organisations to manage growth and transformation projects, his broad business management knowledge means he brings an overarching approach to issues. Mauro helps businesses shape their organisations through strategy, bargaining, restructuring and the implementation of new people structures, through to managing personal grievances, investigations, and employment disputes.

Beverley Edwards

Senior Solicitor

A self-confessed pragmatic problem solver, Beverley works collaboratively with businesses across the spectrum of contentious and non-contentious Employment Relations issues. A specialist in investigations, she assists members with the tricky processes of disciplinaries, performance, restructuring, and incapacity processes. Underpinning these contentious procedures, she drafts employment agreements and policies across many issues such as drug and alcohol testing, surveillance and social developments.

She frequently represents clients in dispute resolution matters, including mediations and in the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court. An admitted solicitor in New Zealand and South Africa, in her previous life Beverley has prosecuted on behalf of the South African State and worked as Legal Counsel for a multi-national music conglomerate. She has been a law lecturer the past decade and is an ardent community law supporter.

David Graham

Solicitor

As an Employee Advisor on the EMA’s AdviceLine, David got to use his skills in Employment Relations and Human Resources on a full range of employment issues. With that grounding he joined the Legal Team in 2023 shortly after being admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

David brings his analytical mind and the writing and media skills gained through his Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts degrees to help business members with drafting and reviewing employment agreements and policies, in particular. David has also been the editor of the well-read EMA Employer Bulletin, which includes invaluable case summaries and legal updates on employment law.

Sean Hanna

AdviceLine Team Manager

Sean joined EMA in May 2000 providing advice on employment relations, human resource management and employment legislation.

He previously worked as an Employment Advisor in the public sector and prior to moving to New Zealand he worked in London for a recruitment company and at the Department of Employment. Sean has a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management).

Clive Thomson

Collective Bargaining Specialist

Clive is passionate about achieving quality outcomes for businesses when they are dealing with Unions. As our main Collective Bargaining Specialist, he is currently the lead negotiator for more than 50 Collective Agreements across New Zealand. The significant majority of these are in private sector manufacturing. 

He has also led our Bay of Plenty and Central North Island HR/ER consulting team for the last 20 years. Clive is well respected for his work with businesses on their IR Strategy, and for his calm and constructive approach when dealing with Unions. This ensures that quality outcomes are delivered in often challenging situations.

Chris Longman

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Chris is held in high regard for his ability to understand a business quickly, and to design bespoke solutions to their people needs. With a solid background of more than 15 years’ experience in both business partnering and organisational development in both the public and private sector, Chris enjoys helping companies with their People Strategies. This includes Union Relationships and Collective Bargaining, as well as leadership and performance coaching; employment investigations and disciplinary processes; personal grievances; conflict resolution; and organisational change and restructures. 

Also working as a facilitator for EMA Learning, Chris regularly delivers Human Resources and Employment Relations training both on public courses and in-house. He ensures attendees walk away feeling confident that they can manage processes in a fair and compliant manner, protecting themselves and their company from unnecessary risk. As a certified independent investigator, Tauranga-based Chris is also a trusted lead to navigate complex workplace matters such as bullying and harassment claims and other tricky workplace issues.

Lisa Oakley

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Lisa’s approach to helping businesses with their needs is to be a true partner, collaboratively solving problems to ensure that leaders and organisations succeed. She is a past Board member and National Vice President of Human Resources Institute of NZ (HRNZ) with almost 20 years’ experience both in New Zealand – for large companies including Air New Zealand and Spark as well as not for profits – and in Australia. 

Community-focused, Lisa also thrives on working with small to medium-sized businesses and for purpose organisations. Lisa supports seamlessly with everything from People Strategy; Contracts and Policy; Organisational Design and Structure; Talent and Capability; Culture and Engagement; and Industrial and Employment Relations.

Apurv Shukla

Employer Advisor

Before joining AdviceLine, Apurv joined the EMA initially as part of the Business Helpline. He has completed a Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s in Management from Massey University in Auckland and also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. He has a background in account management.

Murray Peat

Employer Advisor

Murray joined the EMA in April 2022 as part of the Business Support Team, providing support to various projects including Membership, Finance and People Experience. In July 2023, he was appointed to the role of Employer Advisor with the AdviceLine Team. Murray has nearly 30 years’ experience managing relationships with clients, members, and service providers.

Tilly Smith

Employer Advisor

Tilly graduated from the University of Otago with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Sociology) in 2023. She completed her Professional Legal Studies Course in June 2024 for admittance to the Roll of Barristers and Solicitors of the High Court.

Tilly recently joined the Adviceline team at the EMA, as an Employer Advisor in June 2024. She assists in providing employment relations advice to Members.

Aimee Graham

Employer Advisor

Aimee joined the EMA in September 2022 as a part of the People & Capability Team, where she led the Talent Acquisition function and provided project-based work for our People Experience Team.

In May 2024, Aimee was seconded into an Employer Advisor role as part of the AdviceLine team to provide employment relations advice to Members.

Jasmine Lim

Employer Advisor

Jasmine is qualified with a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Arts conjoint (University of Auckland) and is admitted to the Roll of Barristers and Solicitors of the High Court of New Zealand.

Jasmine joined the EMA as an AdviceLine Employer Advisor in January 2023 and provides employment relations advice to EMA Members.

Jordyn Thurlow

Employer Advisor

Jordyn graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Human Resources and Employment Relations in 2023. Jordyn has a background in Recruitment and joined the Adviceline team as an Employer Advisor in October 2024. She provides employment relations advice to EMA Members.

Jacob Lane

Employer Advisor

Jacob graduated with a Bachelor of Law from Victoria University of Wellington in 2021. He joined the AdviceLine team in July 2023 and provides employment relations advice to EMA Members.

Jenny Ung

Employer Advisor

Jenny graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in Employment Relations and Organisation Studies and Sociology in 2024. 

She joined the Adviceline team at the EMA, as an Employer Advisor in July 2024 and provides employment relations advice to EMA Members.

Sarah Selwood

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

A Workplace Investigations certificate holder from the Association of Workplace and licensed workplace investigator, Sarah drills into every situation using her training and experience and by being independent and impartial. Behavioural and conduct-related issues as well as conflict and workplace disputes are where she shines, but it does not always have to get to that. 

A skilled, mediator, Sarah can also provide early intervention to resolve issues that arise before they develop into unresolvable conflict. When it comes to Employment Relations, Sarah can also help manage performance and develop leaders to deliver results for large or small businesses. She can step you through the requirements of restructuring to ensure you run a fair and complaint process. If it comes to it, she has an in-depth knowledge and experience in managing personal grievances for employers, including negotiating exits and representation at mediation.

Jason Tuck

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Jason’s goal is to always develop ER and HR solutions that align with the values, strategic goals and direction of the businesses he works with to add value and provide successful and sustainable outcomes. With more than 30 years’ experience in New Zealand, he has held HR leadership roles at a range of large organisations across different sectors, including Ports of Auckland and Countdown, and has a broad range of knowledge and experience. 

He joined the EMA as a consultant in 2017 and is very familiar and comfortable in complex industrial relations environments and union negotiations and has a deep knowledge of all aspects of New Zealand employment law. Through the peak of the pandemic, he helped more than 50 businesses to restructure.

Bruce Lotter

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Bruce takes a practical and hands-on approach to helping resolve conflict and finding solutions for member businesses. He has a wealth of Human Resources, Employment Relations, employment law and general management experience through executive management positions in medium-sized businesses, employer organisations and senior human resources roles for the New Zealand operations of a global corporate. His skills were honed as practising attorney for a large national law firm in South Africa. 

His collective bargaining there was for industries as diverse as aviation, banking, freight and transport operators, packaging, pharmaceutical, printing and print media. During 21 years In New Zealand, Bruce has worked with a wide range of sectors from public entities and Maori Trust organisations to call centres, distribution and manufacturing, where there are often multiple collective agreements being negotiated. Whether it is collective bargaining, personal grievances, mediation, restructuring or conducting investigations, Bruce approaches every matter with honesty and fairness.

Russell Drake

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Russell is an experienced Employment Relations professional with more than 25 years’ experience providing consulting advice to clients across a wide range of industry sectors. In addition to this consulting background, Russell holds trade qualifications in the automotive sector, and has also held executive leadership positions in both the professional services and manufacturing sectors, enabling him to develop a broad business skill set and knowledge that now assists him in working with client organisations. 

Russell leads the EMA’s Waikato Based employment relations consulting practice supporting members in the resolution of a wide range of organisational matters from restructures to discipline processes, collective bargaining, drafting employment document and in the resolution of workplace disputes. Working across the broadest possible spectrum of Employment Relations, Russell acts as an advocate for the employer in forums, from the workplace to mediation, and in both the Employment Authority and Employment Court.

Toni Stanaway

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Toni has over 20 years senior leadership and HR experience across a wide range of industries and sectors. She combines her creativity, intuition, and strategic mind with a track record of delivering seamless, performance-driven solutions to member businesses. The results are practical, scalable, and innovative across a broad range of Human Resources and Employment Relations (ER) challenges, including business change/transformation, restructuring, planning and performance management, organisational development, workforce and experience development; and governance and leadership development. 

Toni believes that with the rate of change it is essential businesses are equipped with the right advice to help them navigate challenges and achieve success; with the big picture in mind. She also loves supporting leaders through tricky ER issues and assisting the development of individuals, leaders and teams. Toni also provides coaching, private mediation and workplace investigations services (Certified Private Investigator).

Myriam Heynen

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Passionate about imparting knowledge, in addition to her Human Resources and Employment Relations consulting, Myriam also designs and delivers training in those areas. Her life-long interest in businesses and how they operate began with her family’s printing firm at a young age. That grew with her formal education and experience in roles with a not-for-profit, Trustbank and Fisher and Paykel. 

Since 1998 Myriam has been contracting to businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Once of our longest-standing consultants, she joined the EMA in 2003. She helps members manage their people processes from recruitment to termination, including performance management, payroll and restructuring.

Murray Broadbelt

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Whangārei-based Murray is a very experienced hand in both employment and industrial relations. What began as HR roles in sizeable manufacturing businesses has transformed over 35 years into speciality areas including collective bargaining, personal grievances, investigations and mediation. 

Murray combines his considerable ER skills with those of his broad HR background to get the best results. He leads a team of specialists for the EMA throughout Northland. While he and his team cover the general employment relations field, they have become well known for their expertise in drafting employment agreements and hands-on advice for restructuring businesses. Outside of the work, Murray has a governance role with Northland’s Rescue Helicopters.

Phil Hughes

Employment Relations and HR Consultant

Phil has over 20 years of HR and leadership experience in the commercial sector, building on a previous career in the Armed Forces. He has worked across various sectors at a senior HR level including professional services, construction, FMCG, SOE and manufacturing, and brings a pragmatic, outcomes-focused approach to HR.

Phil has a solution-based attitude across specialties in remuneration and reward strategies, performance and discipline processes, restructures, industrial relations and training. His leadership style is focused on example and attitude: “what you walk past, you accept”. As a result, he brings an authentic and action-oriented style to his HR capabilities.

Qualifications: Phil holds a Master of Business Studies (Management), Post Grad Diploma in Strategic Studies, and BA in Politics. He is also remuneration qualified in Strategic Pay, Hay and Mercer methodologies and psychometric assessment qualified in TMP, OPRA and CEB/SHL methodologies. He also has qualifications in negotiations and training (with EMA) and is a certified Workplace Private Investigator (Ministry of Justice).