Employees’ lives change, often you are contacted during one of the worst times in people’s lives being the person they trust to help them through that is hugely rewarding. I especially love the email, text or phone call 6 months later saying that they are the happiest they have ever been, and they are grateful for the help that we provided during that stressful time. I get these messages from employers and employees. DO YOU FIND WORKING WITH EMPLOYERS OR EMPLOYEES MORE REWARDING? I find the reward the same but for different reasons. People do not engage a lawyer unless they feel they need to. Employers often get a bad rep. The vast majority of employers are really trying to do the right thing, but they feel for the viability of their business they need to make some hard decisions. That can be addressing poor performance or misconduct or undertaking a restructure. I find developing processes and supporting employers to do this in a mana enhancing and people centric way incredibly satisfying. I also find it rewarding to support employees to ensure that their employer is complying with their minimum obligations. WHAT MAKES BLACK DOOR LAW DIFFERENT TO OTHER LAW FIRMS? The personal touch. Often firms talk about the quality of their advice etc. That to me should be a given, when you engage a professional you should not have to guess whether the advice you are getting is quality. So we focus on people, our clients, their whānau, the people employers’ processes impact, the employee who is going through the process, and also our team. HOW WILL SUCH A SMALL TEAM BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE MANY DIFFERENT ISSUES AND PROBLEMS RAISED FROM ECC MEMBERS? Not to toot my own horn, but we know our stuff! We are true employment law specialists. You know that when you are talking to a Black Door Law lawyer that we deal with employment law all day. Many larger firms may have more people but that does not mean they have more employment lawyers. ECC members talking to our team are talking to self-professed employment law geeks who are wanting the best outcome for you and your centre. WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE FOR YOURSELF AND/OR BLACK DOOR LAW IN 2023? Professionally, I will be completing an international accreditation as a workplace investigator. Personally, I am hoping to have a lovely family holiday with my family in the term 2 school holidays in a warm location and exploring more of New Zealand with my family throughout the year. For the firm, we are looking forward to solidifying the partnership with ECC and supporting as many members as possible through the helpline and the preferred supplier membership benefits. We know that the sector has a lot happening and the impact on people working in the sector needs to be balanced with the viability of many centres. These are tricky questions centres are having to ask and we are looking forward to helping them with the answers. December 2022 { 21 } Helpline Phone Number 0800 742 742 (Option 4) Level 9, The Bayleys Building, 36 Brandon Street, Wellington 6011 blackdoorlaw.co.nz December 2022 { 21 }
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