No. Under New Zealand law, employment advocates can represent you in mediation and the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) exactly like a lawyer does, often at a more affordable rate.

You can be assured that No Win No Fee Lawyers or Advocates will be putting in the work to ensure your case is successful because if you are not successful, they will not be paid for any of the time spent on your case.

The team at Work Law have an excellent reputation in the employment law community, along with a genuine interest in helping their clients get a fair outcome.

No, No Win No Fee is not a con.  Some employment lawyers speak badly of employment law advocates.  As in most industries, some employment advocates are cowboys and opportunists. Some are unprofessional and can harm your case by being too arrogant or aggressive.  It is important to shop around, read reviews and look for recommendations.  We are in direct competition with employment lawyers.  Employment lawyers want you to use them because they charge an hourly rate, which can really add up. Employment lawyers say it’s unethical to charge a percentage of a settlement. A New Zealand employment lawyer who holds a current practising certificate is prohibited from charging a percentage.  As with employment lawyers, our Advocates are qualified to practise employment law, many holding law degrees and HR qualifications. Wherever possible, we have your employer contribute to the costs. More often than not, we get our entire fees paid by your employer, so we don’t take a percentage of your win at all.

1. Contact Us When you email us you will receive a confirmation email. Reply to that email with a full timeline of events, and attach any letters you have received from your employer.  If you have been unfairly dismissed we can help you.
2. If you have just been fired or dismissed and you have no secured future income there are a few steps that you should take immediately to reduce your stress both financially and emotionally. If you have no money in the bank, ring the bank and stop all automatic payments, if there is no money in the bank you could incur fees.
3. Contact the people that these payments go to and explain your situation.
4. Contact your landlord and explain your situation.
5. Book an appointment with your doctor if you are extremely distressed or have any symptoms such as; Difficulty sleeping, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, etc. Please get a letter from your doctor explaining what you have visited him for, this will be added to your case file and will become part of your stress and distress claim.
6. Contact Work and Income NZ, the sooner you register for unemployment benefits, the sooner you will be eligible for payment. If we achieve compensation for unfair dismissal we will usually settle under a tax-free and tax-exempt section of the act, this will not, in this case, have any effect on your benefit.
7. Cancel any unnecessary luxuries that will get you further into debt.
8. Keep any evidence of attempts to look for work, loss of earnings can only be claimed (Unless you are unwell) if you have been actively looking for work.
9. Contact friends or family for support to help get you through.
10. Exercise even if you don’t feel like it, you will feel better and exercise will help you think more clearly.

Employment Lawyers usually charge an hourly rate, so they get paid whether they are successful or not. You can be sure Employment Advocates who offer their services as no win no fee will be putting in the work to ensure your case is a success because their fee only gets paid if they are successful.

No Win No Fee literally means if we don’t win you don’t pay a fee. When you have lost your job or are faced with the prospect of losing your job because of a situation that has arisen with your employer it’s the least likely time you will be able to afford a lawyer.

If there are occasions that we will charge you an hourly rate we will let you know.  For example, If we need to attend your disciplinary meeting if you are wanting to save your job we do charge a meeting fee of $350+gst per hour.

No Win No Fee is not Free

If we accept your case on a no win no fee basis, and if we are successful in winning you a financial outcome there will be fees payable, either by your employer or by yourself as a percentage of the settlement.

If you lose you will not have to pay a fee. Because we don’t get paid for our time and efforts if we don’t win we don’t take on a case if we don’t think it will be successful.