Set up an employee share scheme with legal support from structure to rollout

This service is usually a good fit when your startup has decided it wants to offer equity to staff and needs the legal work to put that decision into effect. That may be because you are hiring senior team members, trying to retain key employees, or formalising an arrangement that has only been discussed informally so far. It is broader than a one-off advice call because it covers the main documents and rollout steps, not just high-level discussion about whether equity might be useful.

The main issues often include who can participate, what they are actually receiving, when rights vest, what happens if someone leaves, and how the scheme interacts with your company constitution and cap table. Disclosure and offer process questions can also matter, depending on how the scheme is structured and who will receive it. Problems often arise when founders focus on the commercial idea only and leave the legal mechanics until later, which can create inconsistencies between plan rules, offer documents and company records.

A template may give you a starting point, but it rarely answers the harder questions about how the scheme should operate in your business. For example, vesting conditions, exercise mechanics, leaver rules and board discretion can all affect how attractive and workable the scheme is. The practical working model can be just as important as the contract wording, especially if founders are trying to reward different types of contributors or align equity with future milestones. Legal support helps connect the documents to the way your startup actually plans to use the scheme.

After the core documents are prepared, the next step is usually to confirm the participant group, finalise the offer terms for each person and issue the supporting communications. We can provide template communications to help explain the scheme at a practical level, alongside the legal documents themselves. Rollout often works best when the plan rules, offer documents and internal approvals are lined up before anything is announced. That helps avoid confusion where staff hear one version of the offer but the formal documents say something narrower or different.

Yes, provided you are at the stage where you want legal input on the likely structure and the documents needed to implement it. The strategy session can help narrow down the approach, but this is not just a brainstorming consult. It is a broader service for startups intending to move ahead with an employee share scheme. If you only want a short discussion about options before deciding whether to proceed, a narrower advice-only service may be the better fit. Tax and accounting consequences may need separate advice as well.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Employee share schemes for NZ startups service, pricing starts from $2,000.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.