Employment Law Considerations for Buying or Selling a Business
The people in a business often make the business, so if you are planning to buy or sell a business, it is important that you understand your employment law obligations in relation to employees.
Although immensely popular due to its user friendly interface and low prices, the Uber Group is facing challenges to its business model worldwide. Issues about the rights of Uber’s drivers have be...
Increase in sick leave entitlement – what you need to know
The Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill (the Bill) was introduced in December 2020 and passed its First Reading on 1 December 2020. With the government’s clear majority, the Bill is anti...
The Employment Relations Authority (Authority) has recently issued a determination that considers redundancies implemented due to the Government’s COVID-19 restrictions: De Wys and Jenney v Solly...
Cancelled Plans and Future Liabilities: A post lockdown annual holidays FAQ
COVID-19 has not only hit many employers hard in terms of economic impact, it has also confronted employers with many employment challenges that require urgent attention.
The new Privacy Act: What will this mean for your Business?
The long awaited reform to New Zealand privacy law is currently making its way through the final stages in Parliament, and is expected to become law on 1 November 2020. The Privacy Bill (which when en...
COVID-19 – Contact Tracing – Health and Safety and Privacy. Think! and save us all.
As we slowly venture out into the world, we have noticed some businesses have adopted questionable contact tracing practices. Businesses need to Think! about the competing obligations they are opera...
Contractor or Employee? The decision in Leota v Parcel Express Limited
The legal distinction between contractors and employees can sometimes be a fine one. Being an employee, rather than a contractor, is generally (and in most cases) advantageous to the worker as it prov...
COVID-19: Extension of Leave Support Scheme for “At Risk” Workers
On 24 April 2020 and with a shift to Alert Level 3, the Government has announced that the COVID-19 Essential Workers Leave Support Scheme has been extended to cover “non-essential” workers who are...
Next Level We are almost 3 weeks into a Level 4 lock-down and a little over a week from Level 3 if all goes to plan. Now is the time to be thinking about what the next stage will look like for your bu...
COVID-19: Employment issues -updated 24 March 2020
The COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, and employers need to be continually assessing and reassessing their response. This article is being updated regularly: the last update was 24 March 2020. L...
Workplace bullying: what it is and what steps to take
Kiwis have a reputation as being friendly, optimistic people, however many of our workplaces have an unspoken dark side: New Zealand has the second-worst rate of workplace bullying in the developed wo...
Do you really need a Fixed Term Agreement? Really really?
Most of us (and especially lawyers) like certainty. Experience tells us however that there is nothing as uncertain as a sure thing. Frequently, we speak to employers that are tempted to use fixed ...
Even when employment has lasted for a very short time, an employer is still required to follow the law, and the consequences of failing to comply can end up being very significant. So it was for a C...
Court of Appeal considers the law on notice during a Trial Period… are we all clear now?
In Ioan v Scott Technology NZ Limited, the Employment Court looked at the requirement to give notice during a trial period termination under the Employment Relations Act 2000 (Act). Mr Ioan’s employ...
Between 2016 and 2022, demand for construction-related occupations is projected to increase by approximately 56,000 employees. Temporary workers provided by third party labour hire agencies have long ...
From 6 May 2019, the statutory regime around rest and meal breaks in the Employment Relations Act (Act) has returned to a prescriptive approach. The changes replace the more flexible provisions that...
What must be in an individual employment agreement to comply with legislation? You might be surprised!
Most employers know that an individual employment agreement (IEA) must be in writing and that they are required to retain a signed copy (or the current terms and conditions of employment that make up ...
Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill
You may have heard the phrase “triangular employment relationship” thrown around, particularly in the media. Although it sounds complicated, the phrase refers to a common employment relationship, ...
When the employment relationship comes to an end, for whatever reason, there are still a few boxes to be ticked. So what needs to be done before you can bid each other a (hopefully) fond farewell?
The Employment Law team at Hesketh Henry is thrilled to welcome Jodi Sharman back from parental leave. Jodi is excited to be back at her desk. We are also happy to announce that Sam Houliston has ...
Antares Restaurant Group Limited (which owns and operates Burger King in New Zealand) has received a whopper of a sanction – a ban on the company supporting visa applications until July next year.
On 25 July 2018 the Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Bill passed its third reading in parliament. The resulting Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Act 2016 will come into force on 1 April 2019.
Contractor, Worker, Employee: The Gig Economy Gets a Judicial Serve
The UK Supreme Court’s recent decision about a plumber could influence how our own courts classify workers held out as contractors and workers for app-based companies like Uber.
Ministry of Health statistics confirm that during 2016, 169,454 people accessed mental health services in New Zealand. The law of averages suggests that most workplaces will – to a lesser or greater degree – be affected at some time by an employee’s mental health issue.
Managing Medical Incapacity: Enough To Make You Feel Sick?
Managers and HR practitioners often tell us that dealing with employees who are genuinely too sick or injured to work is one of their least favourite tasks. Frankly, we can see why.
Criminal Law and Employment Law – when worlds collide
The obligation an employer has to be open and honest to its employees, active and constructive, responsive and communicative and not to mislead or deceive, is the exact same set of obligations that employees owe to their employer
Compliance with the Holidays Act is paramount, but that is closely followed by compliance with any collective agreement and then individual employment agreement.
When an employee leaves work in dramatic fashion, it is important (from both a legal and practical perspective) to try and clarify the employee's intentions, so you all know where you stand.
The Employment Standards Legislation Bill (Bill), recently introduced to Parliament by the Government, proposes a raft of changes across employment legislation.
Once an employer has investigated allegations of misconduct, and reached the conclusion that yes, the employee has indeed done what they were accused of, it is tempting to race to the finish line, and...
Enforcing Employment Standards – finally some teeth!
For a long time, enforcement of employment standards has been a bit of the proverbial slap on the hand with a wet bus ticket. However, things are about to get quite a lot tougher for employers who...
Recently we have noticed a number of employers getting themselves in trouble when it comes to the disciplinary process. Often, these employers will have a good idea of what the employee has done w...
There has been a lot of comment in recent months about changes to rest and meal break entitlements. Based on those comments, one could be forgiven for thinking the world was ending. Take one union...
Enforcing Employment Standards – heavy sanctions looming!
For a long time, enforcement of employment standards has been a bit of the proverbial slap on the hand with a wet bus ticket. However, things are about to get quite a lot tougher for employers who...
Wage and time records are not the sexiest or most captivating aspect of employment law. Indeed, it is an element of HR that is easy for even the best, most diligent practitioners to forget. Howe...
Redundancy Wake Up: Court of Appeal Upholds Employment Court Decision
Redundancies have been a hot-button issue over the past 18 months, with no fewer than four Employment Court decisions dealing with them. The Court of Appeal has now weighed in, and made findings tha...
Way way back, during the 2011 election campaign, National made a promise to amend the Employment Relations Act 2000. Following what has proven to be a long-winded saga featuring criminal convictions...
The trials and tribulations of using a trial period are compounding with each new Authority and Court decision. The latest wrinkle is the recent decision in Hutchison v Canon New Zealand Ltd [2014...
What happens when an employee, or an unsuccessful candidate for a position, wants to see information relevant to their file or application that the employer considers is confidential? The Human Righ...
Parental Leave Redundancy: Restructuring While An Employee Is On Parental Leave – A Hard Push?
When restructuring a business, it is important to pay particular attention to employees whose employment may be affected while they are on parental leave.
The Employment Relations Act is changing (yes, again!). What does this mean for you? Now that the Christmas tree has been packed away for another year and the New Year celebrations have been success...
Christmas bonuses, annual bonuses, or quarterly bonuses that are paid shortly before Christmas may all have an impact on holiday payments. Generally speaking, if the payment is made under an employee...
Employers are entitled to have a Christmas closedown – provided they customarily have had a closedown period. Unfortunately, what constitutes “customarily” is somewhat unclear: an employer tha...
In 2013-2014, both Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a Wednesday. Boxing Day and 2 January 2014 both fall on a Thursday. Accordingly, all are to be observed on the actual days they fall. Publ...
Employers have responsibility for their staff at any work-related Christmas function. This can potentially include client functions. Employee behaviour can stray into misconduct, particularly where ...
Pre-Employment Assessments – What You Need To Know
Can employers use ‘on the job trials’ as part of the recruitment process? An Employment Court decision suggests the answer is ‘yes’, but there are still some pitfalls to watch out for. To av...
Skeletons in the Closet – Misrepresenting Convictions
A Fonterra driver has won his unjustified dismissal case after failing to disclose previous criminal convictions in his job application. The application included a warning that a failure to disclose c...
Job Application Forms and Questions – Have you been sterilised?
A job application form seems so simple, however they can be harder to make legally compliant than you might think. In the Media An extreme example recently reported by Fairfax Media was a series of ...
Can you deduct from an employee’s wage? It’s not as easy as you may think.
It is a fundamental rule that employers must pay the entire amount of an employee’s wage without any deduction. But what about PAYE, an overpayment made to the employee or if the employee owes you...
Garden leave intertwines with post-termination restraint of trade
It is the nature of business that employees often resign in order to take up jobs with competitors. In some cases, these employees are privy to valuable business information which soon-to-be ex-empl...
A pregnant pause In March 2013, The Observer reported that: “one in seven women surveyed had lost their job while on maternity leave; 40% said their jobs had changed by the time they returned, with ...
Replacement Workers – Are the times (and the law) changing?
Replacement Workers – Are the times (and the law) changing? On 13 June the Employment Relations (Continuity of Labour) Amendment Bill was drawn from the ballot of private members’ bills, meaning t...
The Employment Relations Act Gets a Makeover In the March 2013 edition of Employment News, we mentioned that the Government was to introduce a new Bill to amend the Employment Relations Act 2000 in se...
Make time for tea – do your employees take their breaks?
Most employers are now cognisant that employees are entitled to rest breaks and meal breaks during the employee’s working hours. What may not be so clear are the employer’s obligations to inform a...
Who knew that Fonterra employees were such dedicated followers of internet trends? The dairy giant has once again found itself embroiled in employment litigation over a social media craze. Back in 201...
Subject to any guidelines, agreement, or policies to the contrary, an employee is allowed to turn up to work wearing an ugly tie or with a horrific haircut. An employee’s appearance, is, within reas...
Redundancy – Employer Judgement or Court Judgment?
Four recent decisions of the Employment Court have found the employers’ reasons for redundancy wanting, and have consequentially held the dismissals to be unjustified. Rittson-Thomas t/a Totara ...
Judge Barrie Travis Judge Travis, a long-serving Judge of the Employment Court in Auckland, retired at the end of 2012. A member of the Court since 1989, Judge Travis has been responsible for some of ...
Given the summer holiday, one would expect little to report in the way of proposed legislative changes to employment law. The Government clearly didn’t get that memo! Since November, it has anno...
Court rules competing rights trump religious belief at work
Recently, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) ruled on claims brought by four applicants based upon what they saw as discrimination against them in their workplaces on the grounds of relig...
Two Degress of Separation: How Not to Vary and Employment Agreement
The Employment Relations Authority’s decision in Edwards v Two Degrees Mobile Ltd serves as a reminder to employers of the fundamental requirement to reduce agreements to writing. It also demonstr...
In the recent decision of Faitala v Terranova Homes & Care Ltd, the Employment Court firmly rejected an employer’s position that it was entitled to deduct the employer’s compulsory KiwiSaver c...
Tomorrow Doesn’t Work for Me, Nor Does Any Other Day – Let’s Just Not Bother: An Employee’s Refusal to Attend a Disciplinary Meeting
We are quite often asked what to do if an employee just won’t turn up to a disciplinary meeting. Do you have to delay forever? Can you box on and hold the meeting without the employee in question?...
Don’t Let the truth get in the way of a good story
DON’T LET THE TRUTH GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY The New Zealand Herald reported on 21 January 2013 about a manager at Independent Liquor (referred to using the Bond-esque title “Mr X”) who wa...
LEGISLATION UPDATE What’s new in the world of employment-related legislation? A real mix of developments in legislation dealing with adventure tourism, parental leave, the controversial “...
Watch This Space! Since our last edition of Employment News, we have learned of two important cases before the Employment Court regarding KiwiSaver contributions and Equal Pay for women. There are al...
Employee Benefits – which Employer carries the can?
When a ‘vulnerable’ employee elects to transfer employers under Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (“Act”), all their employment entitlements transfer with them. The new employer b...
In a matter of months the Minister of Labour has stated that she intends to review the law regarding constructive dismissal, a couple of constructive dismissal cases were reported in the media, and Ch...
Crest Cleaning Refuses to Transfer Vulnerable Employees
Either Crest Commercial Cleaning (“Crest”) are on a crusade against Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (“Act”) or Part 6A has unfairly rallied against Crest. The object of Part 6A ...
Fixed Term Employment Agreements Section 66 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (“ERA”) allows an employer to employ an employee for a fixed term. There are, however, various prerequisites, set o...