Mental Health & Employment Law Conference 2025

Managing mental health has become one of the biggest employment and health & safety issues in the workplace.

Employment law issues that have a mental health aspect can be extremely challenging for lawyer and HR practitioner alike. Implementing procedures that are best practice and legally compliant is a complex and sensitive challenge when addressing mental health issues in the workplace.

The Thomson Reuters’ Mental Health & Employment Law Conference will address key issues including workplace investigations, performance management, absenteeism, and termination.

We look forward to welcoming you to Eden Park in Auckland on 26 June, or a livestream option is available if you are unable to attend in person.

8.30am Registration and coffee

9.00am Welcome and opening remarks from the chair

Samantha Turner, Barrister, Stout Street Chambers

9.10am - 9.50am Managing psychosocial risks – a practical review

• What is psychological safety?
• Key duties and obligations of employers and employees
• Australia’s response: managing the risks of psychosocial hazards at work code of practice

Samantha Turner, Barrister, Stout Street Chambers

9.50am - 10.35am Focus on the work, not the worker

The evidence is clear, the quality of our work environment profoundly affects our physical and mental health. The focus should be on changing the work before looking at what workers can do to prevent or minimise harm. This session will discuss:

• Work-related factors that have the potential to cause physical and/or mental harm
• Why psychosocial risk assessments are necessary but not sufficient
• 5 stages of better work by design -socialisation, discovery, sense making, design and realisation

Dr Hillary Bennett, Partner, Leading Safety

10.35am - 10.40am Table talk

10.40am - 11.00am Morning break

11.00am - 11.40am Performance management and mental health - legal and compassionate conversations

Performance management and disciplinary processes are high stress situations for any employee but can be even more harmful for someone with mental health issues if not handled with appropriate care. This session will look into what the Courts expectations are when you are going through an employment process with an employee who has mental health issues. Conversely, there are times when an employee’s health, both physical and mental, is preventing them from fully undertaking their role. This session will also explore what options are open to an employer in this situation

Fiona McMillan, Partner, Lane Neave

11.40am - 12.20pm Managing absenteeism and sick leave

Managing long term absences in the workplace is difficult and sensitive when concerning mental health issues. The session will help you understand your rights and responsibilities including:

• Managing and supervising absenteeism
• Capacity assessment and return to work process
• Issuing formal warnings
• Dealing with employees who refuse or are unwilling to return to work and lessons from recent cases.

Marie Wisker, Partner, Chapman Tripp

12.25pm - 12.30pm Table talk

12.30pm - 1.10pm Lunch break

1.10pm - 2.00pm Best practices for conducting effective investigations that best support the mental health and wellbeing of participants

Claims of stress, anxiety or bullying can often lead to workplace investigations. These investigations can be troublesome, complex and if done wrong can lead to further potential legal action. This session will focus on the importance of correct procedure in workplace investigation processes for HR, H&S and legal professionals.

• Duties and obligations employers have to investigation participants

• How to effectively manage workplace investigations

• Privacy and confidentiality

Andrew Scott-Howman, Barrister, Port Nicholson Chambers and Australasian Advisory Committee Member, Association of Workplace Investigators 

2.00pm - 2.40pm Termination - when all options have been explored

Hannah King, Partner, Kiely Thompson Caisley

2.40pm - 2.45pm Table talk

2.45pm - 3.05pm Afternoon break

3.05pm - 3.50pm Case study

3.50pm - 4.00pm Closing remarks and end of conference

Andrew Scott-Howman

Andrew is a Wellington based barrister, practising as a workplace investigator. He has a background in employment law, and was a partner both at a major commercial law firm and at the Crown Solicitor’s Office in this area of speciality. In 2016 he graduated from the Association of Workplace Investigator's Training Institute, and is a member of that specialist interest organisation, and a leader of its New Zealand Circle. In the same year he co-authored the Thomson Reuter’s publication, “Workplace Bullying”, contributing an overview of the law relating to investigations in New Zealand. Andrew has wide experience as an investigator in employment matters, including undertaking investigations of: allegations of workplace bullying; sexual harassment allegations; protected disclosures; and anonymous complaints. He has conducted investigations for both public and private sector entities and has also undertaken reviews of “workplace culture” for different entities.

Fiona McMillan

Fiona is the Auckland Partner of the Employment Law team and commenced her career with Lane Neave in 2007. Fiona and her team act for both employees and employers in matters involving employment relations, health and safety, human rights, privacy and ACC. She advises on all aspects of termination including performance management, misconduct, serious misconduct, medical incapacity, restructurings and redundancies and negotiated exits.  She also specialises in collective bargaining, human rights commission matters and independent external investigations.  In 2019, Fiona undertook the certification from the Association of Workplace Investigators in Vail, Colorado, USA. Fiona regularly represents parties in Mediations, Employment Relations Authority Investigation meetings and the Employment Court.  She acted as counsel in the leading case on penalties – Borsboom v PVT Limited and the leading case on union discrimination – Lamont and Others v Ritchies Transport Holdings Limited. Although Fiona is based in Auckland, she works with clients in all parts of the country. She regularly presents employment law seminars and speaks at conferences around New Zealand.

Hannah King

Hannah is a Partner at Kiely Thompson Caisley. Her practice spans the full range of contentious and advisory employment law issues, including privacy, health and safety and human rights matters arising in the workplace. Hannah frequently represents clients at mediation and in litigation.  She has a wealth of experience advising on personal grievance claims, as well as matters relating to the protection of confidential information, restraints of trade, complex entitlements and Holidays Act issues.  Hannah conducts workplace investigations, and regularly provides advice to employers on disciplinary, performance management, restructuring and medical capacity processes and managing bullying, harassment and discrimination issues.

Dr Hillary Bennett

Hillary is a director of Leading Safety, a consultancy specialising in safety leadership, safety culture, human factors, and workplace health and safety. She is a registered psychologist and works with organisations across all sectors to develop safe and healthy workplaces. She has a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing at work. She developed the Business Leaders Forum's Guide to 'Mental Health and Wellbeing at Work'.  

Marie Wisker, Partner, Chapman Tripp

Marie advises clients on a wide variety of commercial disputes, specialising in employment law and health and safety. She works with a number of the firm’s key clients, many of whom are large employers. With a broad range of general commercial experience, Marie can provide practical advice relevant to the clients’ commercial objectives. She helps clients manage employment and health and safety risks through compliance advice and training, and has spoken at a number of conferences on both employment and health and safety. Marie assists clients on the full range of employment and health and safety matters, including difficult issues relating to mental health where employment and health and safety overlap. She has advised clients on issues regarding personal grievances, employee mental health issues and represented clients responding to investigations and prosecutions by WorkSafe. 

Samantha Turner

Samantha is a leading employment and health and safety law expert.  She has over twenty years’ experience and is a skilled mediator and litigator, who is also a regular speaker at conferences and trainer on key employment and health and safety issues. Samantha has extensive experience working with public sector and local government bodies and she has been involved in a number of high-profile reviews, inquiries and investigations.  Samantha has also worked with a wide range of leading New Zealand and global corporates, often working with leaders and lawyers from other jurisdictions and matching the requirements of New Zealand compliance to initiatives proposed from other jurisdictions. She was previously a partner at Simpson Grierson and she joined the independent bar in late 2021.  Samantha has consistently been a ranked lawyer in Chambers Asia-Pacific Employment and Asia Pacific Legal 500 Employment and other leading legal directories.