Godfreys Law

Our Expert Employment Lawyers can Assist with the Following Areas:

• Employment Agreements
• Personal Grievances & Complaints
• Employee Dismissal
• Restructuring & Redundancy

Employment Agreements

Before hiring anyone new, you must provide an Employment Agreement and give your prospective employee a reasonable opportunity to review it before signing. If you want to be able to enforce the clauses in your Employment Agreement, you must make sure the contract is signed and returned to you before they start working.

How accurate is your Employment Agreement?

It may be tempting to use one of the free Employment Agreement templates available online. However, more often than not, they do not reflect actual conditions at your workplace. A tailored Employment Agreement will help you manage and negotiate potential employment issues before they become disputes.

Personal Grievances & Complaints

Successful businesses rely on solid cooperation and teamwork. So, what do you do if someone raises a complaint (employment relationship problem) or personal grievance?

Grievances or complaints could be about workplace bullying, sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, or discrimination due to race, age, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

In the event of a grievance or complaint, your next words and actions must be carefully thought out. Responding can involve mediation through the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, or privately with your employee’s lawyer or advocate.

We can advise you on the process and possible outcomes, as well as negotiate, represent and mediate on your behalf with your employee’s lawyer.

Employee Dismissal

There are many reasons for wanting an employee to leave. Poor productivity, worrisome or disruptive behavior, or incompatibility with your team culture are all valid, serious workplace behaviours that must be addressed. If dismissal is an appropriate solution, it must be handled properly.

To prevent any challenges or personal grievance claims, you will have to justify your actions, in a way that proves the actions you took were what a fair and reasonable employer would have done under the circumstances.

Our Employment Law Team can help you follow due process around employee dismissal or disciplinary action, protecting you and your Christchurch business against disputes in the future.

Property conveyancing is a lot like an iceberg. Once you have made the decision to buy or sell, you only see a small part of the work that needs to be done to complete the deal. Whether you’re buying or selling homes in Christchurch, property conveyancing comes down to these three steps.

Identify The Property

Slightly more complicated than it sounds, this involves going through all the paperwork associated with the house you are looking to buy or sell and making sure it matches the land area and legal description on the sale documents.
We’ll also check to see if the Christchurch property has:

Covenants: Any restrictions on what owners can change about the property. These are particularly popular in new Christchurch subdivisions where the developer wants to create an overall look.

Right of Way: Does anyone else have legal access to your land? For example, a shared driveway on a cross-lease section.

Easements: Any agreements to use your property for a specific purpose. Like an agreement with the Christchurch City Council to lay water mains or sewage pipes.

Our property law team will bring any issues, including outstanding EQC or insurance claims to your attention, so you can buy or sell with peace of mind.

Property Finance

Godfreys Law can work with your bank or mortgage broker to move your property transaction to the next step. We can confirm the details of any sale documents, that both sides have agreed to the terms, and if you’re buying, help get your finances in order.

Our team can also help if you’re looking to refinance your mortgage. If you want a new interest rate or to consolidate a number of loans into one, Godfreys Law can prepare the paperwork to pay off your existing loan and replace it with a new one.

Settlement Day

This is the big day. Whether you’re buying or selling, this is the day you get the keys to your new home and move into the next phase of your life.

We will make sure money from your bank or mortgage lender is transferred safely and securely through our trust account and to the other party. Our team will also make sure the legal paperwork is filed properly, confirming the new name on the property deed, making sure your your settlement day goes ahead as planned.

Our Expert Commercial Lawyers can Assist with the Following Areas:

• Contract Law
• Shareholder Agreements
• Insolvency

Contract Law

What happens if one side doesn't hold up their end of the bargain? Whether a supplier fails to deliver goods or services, a former employee breaks a non-compete agreement, or a business partnership breaks down, our Contract Legal Team works on your behalf to right the imbalance.

From mediating disagreements to negotiating settlements, Godfreys Law can take action in resolving your contract disputes without recourse to the courts. Our Lawyers consider all options to help you get a successful resolution, while you achieve quicker legal outcomes through expert litigation and mediation.

Shareholder Agreements

A well-crafted shareholders agreement or company constitution will usually outline a clear dispute resolution process, which can save a lot of stress and time down the track.

Our Commercial Law Team can recommend a number of strategies to help both sides part ways on mutually agreed terms, such as an agreed buyout of shares.

Unless another shareholder has acted unlawfully, or a director has breached their duties, you may not have grounds to go to court to settle your dispute. In extreme cases where neither party can agree to a settlement, liquidation may be an option.

Insolvency

If business isn’t going so well, you may be facing receivership, liquidation and potentially bankruptcy. Seeking experienced legal advice at the first sign of financial difficulty is the best solution.

Filing for Voluntary Administration through the courts can grant your business time to find financial solutions. Other legal solutions like creditors proposals or summary instalment orders can help you settle disputes and debts while allowing you to remain in business.