Partner

Jim Roberts

LLM (Hons) (1st Class) / LLB / BCom
Profile
Jim Roberts heads up the Employment Law Team.

Jim has a wealth of specialist experience, having been practising employment law for more than 30 years.  He helps his clients, who are from a range of industries, develop their employment strategies around common employment processes, assists with compliance work to minimise his clients’ exposure to risk, with a particular focus on Holidays Act issues, and regularly advises on issues arising from mergers and acquisitions.

Jim is a highly skilled and experienced advocate and has a wealth of experience in mediation, the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and appellate Courts.  Over his career, Jim has acted on a number of leading cases.  A particular recent highlight is a Court of Appeal benchmark case on the application of short-term incentive payments under the Holidays Act.  A career highlight was appearing in the Privy Council regarding employment jurisdiction, which is the only employment case from New Zealand to ever be heard in the Privy Council.

As well as providing strategic legal advice, Jim is often involved in union disputes and collective agreement issues and is currently advising on one of the first fair pay agreement negotiations.  He enjoys getting to know his clients’ businesses and understanding the people behind the issues.

 

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Experience

Examples of work completed by Jim include:

  • Advising a publicly listed company on the managed exit of its CEO.
  • Representing an employer in relation to the workplace death of an employee.
  • Leading a mediation involving a dispute encompassing shareholding, directors and employment of the managing director.
  • Assisting an employer to commission an investigation into a senior employee alleged to have committed fraud and managing the subsequent disciplinary process.
  • Working with a large multinational employer to restructure New Zealand operations, including the redundancy of a large number of employees.
Publications

Insights & Opinion / Jim Roberts

Plan fail results in health and safety conviction
Deliver the health and safety work you promise, or there may be legal consequences – as a health and safety consultancy recently learnt! Earlier this year, WorkSafe prosecuted Safe Business Solution...
25.10.2024 Posted in Employment & Health & Safety
Commercially sensitive information? Prove it
The Court of Appeal has refused to grant leave to Birthing Centre Limited (BCL) in respect of its appeal from the Employment Court. The Employment Court and the Employment Relations Authority (Authori...
02.09.2024 Posted in Employment
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Your Uber Driver has arrived – and is an employee!
There has been ongoing legal debate as to whether Uber drivers are employees or contractors, and the Court of Appeal may have had the last word, finding today that four Uber drivers were, at law, empl...
26.08.2024 Posted in Employment
Changes for the United Kingdom’s employment laws are on the way – how does New Zealand compare?
The United Kingdom (UK) has a new Labour Government following 14 years under the Conservative Party. Like we have seen recently, a new government usually spells major change for employment law, and it...
01.08.2024 Posted in Employment
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Court of Appeal overturns Employment Court decision stripping family carers of their employment status
Two parents of disabled adult children have lost their status as employees of the Ministry of Health (MOH). The Employment Court had previously found that they were “homeworkers” and therefore emp...
29.05.2024 Posted in Employment
Trust liability under the Health and Safety at Work Act
WorkSafe New Zealand v RH & JY Trust & ors
21.02.2024 Posted in Health & Safety & Private Wealth
New year, new government, new policies: what’s on the cards for employment law in 2024?
As we have been known to say once or twice (okay, maybe every year!) employment law never stands still. New governments can also spell major change, and this time is no exception. As you will likely h...
14.02.2024 Posted in Corporate & Commercial & Employment
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