Our Executive Remuneration team has a proven track record in advising on all aspects of employee benefits and remuneration structures for listed and unlisted companies in New Zealand and internationally. We offer a fully integrated multi-disciplinary service with experts in New Zealand corporate and securities, employment and tax law who understand and advise on the diverse range of remuneration issues.
Executive remuneration is a key issue for New Zealand and multinational employers and raises a great number of legal matters, including employment, income tax, fringe benefit tax, securities law, corporate governance and shareholder issues. Navigating through the complex rules in New Zealand’s corporate, financial services, employment and tax regimes requires a thorough working knowledge of these rules and their application in this specialised area.
Corporate and securities advisory
designing and implementing a broad range of employee incentive plans, including share plans, option and performance rights plans, and salary and bonus sacrifice plans;
advising on the New Zealand securities and financial services law considerations relevant to the design, adoption and implementation of employee incentive plans;
drafting plan rules, offer documents, board/remuneration committee papers, resolutions and staff share trading policies;
advising on the formal adoption of plans and preparing appropriate shareholder notices;
advising on the implementation in New Zealand of foreign multi-national employee incentive plans;
advising on regulatory issues (including under the Securities Act 1978, the Companies Act 1993 and the NZX Listing Rules) in relation to employee participation in incentive schemes;
structuring and drafting individual executive option grants not made under formal incentive schemes; and
obtaining and advising on regulatory waivers and/or modifications.
Employment
advising on plan rules and drafting employment contracts with specific regard to employee participation in incentive schemes, including interaction with termination provisions and good leaver / bad leaver arrangements;
advising on unlawful discrimination issues in relation to participation in incentive schemes; and
advising on, and defending, legal claims by employees arising out of their participation in incentive plans (particularly equity based schemes).
Tax
advising on the tax implications for employee participants in various employee incentive plans, including drafting tax summaries, tax questionnaires and employee communications;
advising multi-national companies on the New Zealand tax issues for their New Zealand assignees and the tax equalisation issues arising from cross-jurisdictional differences;
advising on the tax issues for employees relocating to New Zealand, including assisting in the design of tax-effective relocation and salary packages;
advising employees relocating to and from New Zealand on the cross-border tax issues for their employee incentives;
advising on management participation in management buy-outs;
transactional issues, including advising on the impact on employees of takeovers, demergers, buy-backs, capital reductions, sales of business and outsourcing;
advising on bonus remuneration schemes;
assisting with salary sacrifice arrangements and total employment cost;
advising on fringe benefit tax issues arising from remuneration packages and salary sacrifice arrangements; and
advising on the implications for employers and employees of termination arrangements.
In addition to our expert Executive Remuneration legal team in New Zealand, lawyers in our Australian and London offices are experienced and well-versed in the legal issues arising from all aspects of employee and executive remuneration.
