Russell Drake Consulting
Helping employers navigate the complex nature of applying Employment Law.
Latest Articles & Insights
Helping employers navigate the complex nature of applying Employment Law
When should we document variations to Employment Terms and Conditions?
Employment relationships are dynamic and it is common for an employee’s role, responsibilities, hours of work, remuneration, reporting lines, or workplace arrangements to evolve over time....
What obligations do employers have to disclose information to employees
Disclosure Requests in New Zealand Employment Law: Principles and Key Case Law for Employers Disclosure is a fundamental aspect of fair process in New Zealand employment law. Whether an employer...
Medicinal Cannabis in the Workplace – what do Employers need to know?
Medicinal Cannabis is legally prescribed in New Zealand, and for some employees it forms part of their medical treatment. For those employees, it is a prescription only medicine, accessed solely...
Employment Relations & Workplace Conflict Resolution
Employee Conflict Resolution
Clear, practical advice when you need to act quickly and fairly.
Employee Independent Investigations
Independent investigations that stand up to scrutiny.
Employee Disciplinary Process
Support through disciplinary and performance management processes (end-to-end).
Employee Mediation
Clear, practical advice when you need to act quickly and fairly.
Employee Settlement Agreements
Resolution support—mediation, settlement conversations and employer representation.
Employee Redundancy Process
Confident handling of restructures and redundancy processes.
Personal Grievances
Confident handling of restructures and redundancy processes.
Human Resource Foundations
Employment Agreements
Employment agreements that are clear, compliant and easy to use.
Employment Policies
Employment policies that are clear, compliant and easy to use.
Performance Management
Stronger performance conversations—tools, templates and coaching.
Pay Structure and Salary Benefits Support
A smoother employee lifecycle: induction, role clarity and exits done well.
Salary benchmarking and Incentive Design
Pay and benefits support—benchmarking and incentive design.
HR and Payroll Audits
Practical HR and payroll audits to reduce risk and liability.
Practical HR and Payroll Audits
Practical HR and payroll audits to reduce risk and liability.
Compliance & Risk
Compliance Audits
Identify compliance gaps early—before they become costly problems.
Wage & Time Record Reviews
Wage and time record reviews with practical, achievable solutions.
Contractor vs Employee Risk Guidance
Contractor vs employee risk guidance to protect your business.
Employee Risk Advice
Straightforward risk advice for complex people situations.
Restructure & People Change
Company Restructure Communications
Restructure support that keeps your people informed and your process robust.
Restructure Risk Management
Restructure guidance that reduces risk and protects relationships.
Job Role Clarity and Practical Organisational Design Support
Role clarity and practical organisational design support as your business evolves.
Training & Capability Building
Manager Training
Manager training that builds confidence for real-world people issues.
Practical Workshops
Practical workshops with templates your team can use straight away.
Leader Coaching
Leader coaching for difficult conversations and consistent decision-making.
About Us
Russell Drake Consulting Ltd was founded in 2010 by Russell Drake.
With a background in the corporate sector and a strong understanding of how organisations operate, Russell set out to create a practical, business-focused consultancy that helps employers make confident, legally compliant decisions.
- 2010
Purchased the EMA licence for Waikato, doubling our client base.
- 2011
Linda-Maree joined the business full-time to strengthen business development and build scalable systems and processes.
- 2011-2013
Continued to grow at around 20% year on year through new client acquisition and strong outcomes for employers.
- Today (2018–2026)
We now support 1,200+ business owners, including New Zealand-owned organisations as well as American and Australian businesses operating in New Zealand.
What our customers are saying
Contact Us
Call now for an obligation free conversation to discuss your needs.
We are proud to service clients across New Zealand and Australian
businesses who have divisions in NZ.
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