The Law Association of New Zealand is forming a working group to develop a regulatory framework for employment advocates, an industry that has operated without mandatory oversight since the Employment Relations Act came into force 26 years ago.
The initiative is led by The Law Association’s Employment Law Committee. It will bring together advocates, unions, and other sector stakeholders to agree on a framework the working group intends to put to ministers and MBIE for action.
Employment Law Committee convenor Catherine Stewart said the case for reform was long overdue.
“This is an area that’s been crying out for legislative reform for the last 26 years, since the Employment Relations Act came into force. In the meantime, a widespread industry of advocates has developed, which has ballooned and is essentially self-governing. It’s unmanaged, it’s unfettered.”
The Employment Relations Act contains no requirement for advocates to hold relevant qualifications, experience or training. Anyone can represent employees or employers in employment disputes without meeting any mandatory professional standard.
“Anyone can call themselves an employment advocate. There’s a loophole in the Employment Relations Act which leaves the public exposed,” Stewart said.
“There are long-standing concerns about quality of service, overcharging and the poor conduct of some advocates. The public is commonly confused and they don’t understand that their representative is not a lawyer. There have been many situations where clients have suffered through poor representation and feel misled.”
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
The Employment Law Institute of New Zealand, the representative body for employment advocates, has agreed to join the working group, as have a number of unions. The committee will invite further professional organisations and sector stakeholders to participate.
Stewart said the lack of regulation was damaging public confidence in the entire employment disputes system.
“Lay people don’t understand that there’s this unregulated body of advocates. Clients come to us devastated because they thought they were being represented by a lawyer. It’s eroding public confidence in employment law and in the disputes resolution process. This is about giving a sense of justice to people and making our jurisdiction fair and reasonable.”
She said some advocates themselves were seeking regulation.
“All advocates are probably tarred with the same brush, and there’s been so much negative publicity about the conduct of a number of advocates that it does no credit for the rest. That’s why we see some advocates themselves wanting regulation.”
The Law Association’s chief executive Clayton Kimpton said the working group reflected the committee’s standing in the sector.
“The Law Association has had a very senior and effective Employment Law Committee for many years. It’s very well connected within the sector and able to play a leadership role in bringing different stakeholders together within this working group.”
He said the initiative was about protecting the public, not the legal profession.
“One of the things that’s been said to me is ‘oh, it’s just lawyers protecting their patch’. That’s not the case. It’s about protecting the public from those rogue advocates who might take advantage of them and ensuring that the tribunal and court processes are kept as efficient as possible to help reduce costs for the public.”
The working group is in its formation stage. A first meeting is expected within weeks, with a framework to be put to ministers within months.
The initiative is separate from Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden’s current consultation on the broader employment disputes framework, which also raises the issue of advocate conduct.
