Employment advocates for NZ employees
Talk to an employment advocate. Your first assessment is free.
Contingency (no-win, no-fee) for suitable cases, so there’s nothing to pay upfront.
Your free first assessment
Form, phone or email. A few lines is enough.
Within one working day, to explain your options.
Nothing goes to your employer until you say so.
Your free first assessment
Form, phone or email. A few lines is enough.
Within one working day, to explain your options.
Nothing goes to your employer until you say so.
Who we are
EDRS is a New Zealand employment advocacy service for employees. We help people deal with problems at work, from performance plans and disciplinary processes to personal grievances and exits.
We have sat on every side of the table. We have represented employees and employers, and we mediate employment disputes, so we know how employers think and what it takes to resolve a matter. Our focus is resolution rather than rhetoric: clear advice, careful preparation and practical outcomes.
Your situation, your goals, your decision. We work to the outcome you want.
An honest view of your case, including the weak points, from the start.
Practical outcomes that make a real difference, reached with minimum fuss.
Most workplace problems are easier to fix early. Whatever stage you’re at, we’ll explain your options in plain English.
Raising, negotiating and resolving claims for unjustified dismissal or disadvantage.
Checking the plan is fair, reasonable and supported, and helping you respond.
Preparing you, attending with you and making sure the process is fair.
Recording what’s happening and raising it the right way.
Assessing whether it amounts to constructive dismissal.
Reviewing the reason and the process, and acting within time limits.
Testing the proposal and the consultation, and negotiating terms.
Negotiating fair terms, a reference and a clean exit.
Recovering unpaid wages, holiday pay and other entitlements.
Representing you at mediation and, if needed, at the Authority.
Tell us in a few lines and we’ll explain your options.
Core focus
A personal grievance is how you hold an employer to account for unfair treatment. Raising it well, and on time, sets up everything that follows.
Signs you should get advice
Core focus
A fair process means knowing the allegations, seeing the information relied on, and having a real chance to respond before any decision is made.
Signs you should get advice
Core focus
Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour that can cause harm. Once your employer knows about it, it has a duty to deal with it.
Signs you should get advice
Core focus
A redundancy must be genuine and the process fair. You should see the proposal and the information behind it, and have a real chance to comment before any decision.
Signs you should get advice
Core focus
A negotiated exit can be the cleanest outcome. But once a mediator signs off a settlement it is final and binding, so get the terms right first.
Signs you should get advice
Core focus
A personal grievance is a formal claim an employee can raise against a current or former employer. Common grounds include unjustified dismissal, unjustified disadvantage, discrimination, harassment and duress
90 days
A personal grievance generally has to be raised within 90 days of the action, or of when you became aware of it. For sexual harassment the limit is 12 months. Don’t wait.
Outcomes can include lost wages, compensation, a reference or an agreed exit. Since February 2026, remedies can be reduced or ruled out if your own conduct contributed, so an honest early assessment matters. Most matters resolve through negotiation or mediation.
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First name · Google review
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Call, email or complete the short form. A timeline and your key documents help, but you don’t need to write a long history.
An advocate reviews it and calls you within one working day to explain your options and what we recommend. No cost and no obligation.
If you want us to act, we send our terms and an Authority to Act, which you can accept online. Nothing goes to your employer until you have authorised it.
We manage communications, request information from your employer and build your position using the facts and the evidence.
Most matters resolve through negotiation or mediation. If yours doesn’t, we can take it to the Authority, and we’ll explain the costs and risks first.
Clear fees, agreed in writing before any work starts.
To start
Free
We gather the key details, review your important documents and explain your options. No cost and no obligation.
When you want it resolved
No win, no fee
Where you’re pursuing an outcome, such as a personal grievance, an exit package or settlement, unpaid wages or holiday pay, or a dismissal or redundancy. Nothing to pay upfront. Our fee is a fixed percentage of any financial outcome we achieve, agreed in writing before we start. If there’s no financial outcome, there’s no fee.
Where possible, we also seek a contribution to our fee from your employer as part of any settlement.
When you need some help
Hourly or fixed fee
Advice on your situation, reviewing documents or agreements, support at meetings, and help through a PIP or investigation. We agree the cost with you before we start
Seven things that protect your options while you get advice.
01
Don’t resign. Resigning can limit your options.
02
Don’t sign anything until it has been checked.
03
Ask for it in writing: the allegations or concerns, and the information relied on.
04
Save your evidence: emails, texts, letters, rosters and payslips. Keep copies off work devices.
05
Write a short timeline with dates while it’s fresh.
06
Watch the time limits. A personal grievance generally has to be raised within 90 days.
07
Bring support. Ordinarily you are entitled to bring a support person or representative to a disciplinary or investigation meeting.
Can’t see yours? Tell us what’s happening and we’ll answer it.
We can usually tell you after a short conversation and a look at your documents. Every
situation is different, so the first step is to tell us what’s happening.
No. We are employment advocates, not a law firm. Employment advocates can represent you in negotiations, at mediation and at the Employment Relations Authority, and can work on a contingency basis.
No. What you tell us is confidential, and we don’t contact your employer until you authorise us to act.
Yes. Many people come to us while still working, often during a PIP, an investigation or a restructure. Early advice can protect your job and your options.
If we don’t achieve a financial outcome, you don’t pay our fee. If we do, our fee is paid from the settlement, as set out in our terms.
It only works where there is a realistic financial outcome. Where there is no payment to pursue, for example advice or support at a meeting, we charge a clear hourly or fixed fee instead.
Many matters resolve within weeks through negotiation or mediation. Matters that go to the Authority take longer, and we’ll give you a realistic view at the start.
Yes. The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 came into force on 21 February 2026. It limits remedies where an employee’s own conduct contributed to the situation, and it introduced an income threshold (currently $200,000) above which an unjustified dismissal grievance can’t be brought, with transitional rules for existing agreements. We advise on the law that applies to your dates.
It’s free and confidential. An advocate will be in touch within one working day.
New Zealand wide
