Helping you raise a personal grievance for unfair treatment.
"For the last two years it seems like the only reason folks are getting the sack is 'cos of the Cov!"
Services provided by us are provided on a 'No Win, No Fee' basis. That means that if you do not receive any compensation from your former employer, you are under no obligation to pay for our services.
You will be responsible for any 'out of pocket' expenses however, which will be billed to you in advance. These costs are called 'disbursements'. You will be notified if there are any such expenses. This will include things like filing fees paid to the Crown, printing costs, or courier fees. Most of our usual administration time-based costs are already absorbed by you, because hopefully you will be doing all the sorting, saving, printing and binding needed for us to take your case!
Any costs we charge you for our services will be on agreement between us, as negotiated during mediation. In no circumstance will your costs ever exceed 20% of any negotiated settlement, and there are no 'hidden costs' up our sleeves or crossed fingers behind our backs.
You agree that if you use our services to raise a personal grievance for you, and then you transfer your case to another person or continue your case yourself, you will be liable for a minimum lump sum administrative cost of $150.00. This reimburses our administration team for the work they have already undertaken on your behalf.
Money shouldn't ever be an obstacle to getting justice, and we know you probably don't have much spare cash these days.
We've put together a team of admins to help you get your grievance process started. There may be costs associated with doing the job, but we'll try and recover them from your employer.
If your employer refuses to attend mediation to try and settle your claim informally, there will be a cost of $71.56 to file your case at the Employment Relations Authority. The Authority will send your employer back to mediation. It's time-consuming if that happens but mediation is a necessary part of the process. Again, we'll try to recover this fee from your employer.
All costs received from your employer will be passed on to us by you (not your employer) on provision of a bill of service or invoice to you. These fees will in part reimburse our administration team for costs involved in the work they have undertaken on your behalf*, partly cover the cost of representation at mediation, and if there is any excess left over it will be donated to a New Zealand organisation of our choice. Usually these organisations will be those which have a demonstrable record of fighting for the freedoms and rights of New Zealanders.
* Our volunteers are using their own resources to help you. We may reimburse them for their internet or phone bills, office expenses, petrol/travel costs etc. Some advocates may charge hourly rates to assist.