Education Law Conference in Auckland
Attend this programme for a timely update on the critical issues affecting your school including employment law, managing performance, health, conflict and compliance to ensure you stay across the latest developments and stay in control. Plus explore the essential concerns of student behavioral issues and the new privacy regime, and gain a timely update on the framework of statutory interveners. WEB219NZA09
Description
Attend and earn 7 PLD hours
Session 1
Employment, Health and Competency Issues Update
Chair: Patrick Ikiua, Regional Director (Northern) – Principal Adviser Employment, New Zealand School Trustees Association - Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa; Committee Member ANZELA
8.45am to 9.45am Key Current Employment Law Updates and Concerns Affecting Schools
- An update on new and proposed legislation affecting schools (including pay equity, holiday pay and dispute resolution panels)
- Vaccinations, travel bubbles and remote working: the ongoing effects of COVID-19 for schools
- Learnings for schools arising from recent case law
Presented by Rachael Judge, Senior Associate in the Employment Group, Simpson Grierson
9.45am to 10.45am Dealing with Difficult Staff and Resolution of Workplace Conflict
This session will cover:
- Issues that arise
- Governance framework
- Legal framework
- Identifying and triaging complaints
- Dealing with workplace conflict
- Informally
- Formally
Presented by Kirsty McDonald, Partner, Duncan Cotterill
10.45am to 11.00am Morning Tea
11.00am to 12.00pm Managing Employee Health and Wellbeing: Employment Law Perspective
- Managing intermittent and long term sick leave
- Medical certificates & employee health: When can you require more information?
- Managing & supporting employees with mental health issues
- Medical incapacity & medical retirement: When is it an option?
- The interface between teacher competency and teacher health issues
Presented by Gretchen Stone, Partner, Harrison Stone
12.00pm to 1.00pm Update from the Teaching Council on Professional Conduct and Competence
Update from the Teaching Council on New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal decisions
Presented by Jenny Dawson, Lead Lawyer / Rōia Matua and Bindy Tatham, Solicitor, Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand
Session 2
Student Discipline, Privacy and Statutory Intervention in Schools
Chair: Patrick Ikiua, Regional Director (Northern) – Principal Adviser Employment, New Zealand School Trustees Association - Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa; Committee Member ANZELA
1.45pm to 2.45pm Student Discipline
- What can schools make rules about?
- Prohibition on physical contact with/restraint of students
- Standdowns, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions
- Searches and surrenders of property
- What changes does the Education and Training Act 2020 make?
- Dispute handling process for contested disciplinary steps
- Case law update
Presented by John Hannan, Barrister, Bankside Chambers
2.45pm to 3.45pm Privacy and Confidentiality: Practical Issues for Schools
- Distinguishing privacy and confidentiality
- New Privacy regime: a recap of the changes
- What actions schools should taking in respect of privacy obligations
- Practical issues that schools encounter
Presented by Greg Steele, Partner, Harrison Stone
3.45pm to 4.00pm Afternoon Tea
4.00pm to 5.00pm Appointment, Performance and Relationship with Statutory Interveners such as Limited Statutory Managers and Commissioners
- The statutory framework
- Recruitment of statutory interveners
- Nature of the role
- Commissioner v Limited Statutory Manager
- Making the most of a statutory intervention
Presented by James Crichton, Employment Law Specialist, Three60 Consult; former Chief of the Employment Relations Authority; Former School Commissioner
Presenters
Patrick Ikiua
Patrick Ikiua is the Tamaki Makaurau & Te Tai Tokerau Regional Director for Te Whakaroputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (New Zealand School Trustees Association). He is also the Principal Employment Adviser for NZSTA. In these roles, he oversees the delivery of governance and employment support and guidance to school boards of trustees in the northern region and leads NZSTAs employment practice, nationally. He is married to the beautiful Lily and they are blessed with six children.
Rachael Judge
Rachael Judge is a senior associate at Simpson Grierson, specialising in employment and education law. Rachael acts for several independent and state schools on matters such as terms of enrolment, student disciplinary issues, student human rights claims, school policies and the Children’s Act 2014. She also advises schools in relation to their employment agreements and staff disciplinary issues. Rachael regularly attends mediations and represents clients in Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and Human Rights Review Tribunal matters.
Gretchen Stone
Gretchen Stone specialises in employment and education law. She advises secondary principals through the Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand and with primary principals as the Honorary Solicitor for Auckland Primary Principals Association. Gretchen has extensive experience advising Principals and Board of Trustees in relation to employment and disciplinary issues, governance and management, student discipline issues, social media, and all areas of legal liability within the education sector.
Kirsty McDonald
As an employment and health and safety partner based in our Auckland office, Kirsty focuses on providing strategic and pragmatic advice to clients. She covers the breadth of employment-related issues for clients across all industries, such as redundancies and restructuring, disciplinary and performance matters, personal grievances, industrial relations, restraints of trade, protection of confidential information, workplace investigations and the employment aspects arising from commercial transactions. Kirsty is an experienced advocate, representing clients in the Employment Relations Authority, the Employment Court and the District Court. She is also heavily involved in the health and safety space regularly acting for clients facing prosecution.
Jenny Dawson
Jenny Dawson is the Lead Lawyer at the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. Jenny provides legal advice across the Council, and leads a team of lawyers who support the Council’s investigation team, along with the Complaints Assessment Committee, the Competence Authority, and the Registration Panel. Jenny also manages the cases which are referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal. Jenny previously worked in private practice, specialising in criminal litigation and family litigation. Jenny was a Lawyer for Children, and has two young children, so has a particular interest in supporting the Council to ensure that there is safe and high quality leadership, teaching and learning for tamariki in schools and ECEs through raising the status of the teaching profession.
John Hannan
John Hannan is a highly experienced partner in the employment, litigation and IP, information technology and telecommunications teams at DLA Piper New Zealand. He has acted for major New Zealand and international organisations including one of New Zealand's largest supermarket retailers, a listed chemicals, resins and building products manufacturer, national and international insurers, international and national insurance brokers, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer / distributor; international engineering consultancies, a computer games manufacturer, a New Zealand-wide restaurant chain, and numerous primary, secondary and tertiary education providers. John has experience in fraud, theft of intellectual property, and breach of confidentiality situations, obtaining "freezing orders" and search orders and injunctions. He has significant experience of restraint of trade claims. He has dealt with major product liability claims. He is an experienced High Court advocate. John assists clients with all aspects of employment relationships, both contentious and non-contentious. He appears on employment law matters in the Employment Relations Authority, the Employment Court and the Court of Appeal. John acts for insurers in claims under Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies covering employers against employment-, related disputes. He has also acted for insurers in public liability and professional indemnity claims. Intellectual Property including trademarks, copyright and patent litigation is also an area where John has significant experience.
Greg Steele
Greg joined Harrison Stone in 2020 following 20 years of working mostly as in-house provider and manager of legal services for NZX and ASX listed companies in both New Zealand and Australia. In that time Greg has held the role of privacy officer for a number of organisations, and has experience in the development and implementation of privacy policies. Greg has advised widely on privacy issues in the education sector.
James Crichton
James Crichton logged his first appearance in an employment institution in 1978. His first 10 years of working life were spent in management, culminating in a period as general manager of a local authority. When he commenced legal practice, he developed an interest in working in schools, acting for teachers against schools, and for schools again teachers. He was appointed as a Commissioner or Limited Statutory Manager of a public school on four occasions. In 2004, James was appointed a temporary Member of the Employment Relations Authority and he was reappointed regularly thereafter as a permanent Member of the Authority. After 15 years of service to that institution, culminating with the last four years as Chief, he left the Authority to return to the Bar, specialising in employment law and practice, and alternative dispute resolution.