On 4 April 2016 the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 comes into force. This means that you only have two months to ensure that your business complies with the new legal requirements. We can help by: Reviewing your health and safety policy; Reviewing how you engage with employees about health and safety; Identifying…
New Employment Standards Bill Introduced
On 13 August the Government introduced the Employment Standards Legislation Bill. In summary it: provides for stronger and more effective enforcement of employment standards such as the minimum wage and holidays entitlements; and extends parental leave and payments to more workers and increases the flexibility of the parental leave scheme; prohibits certain practices in employment…
Do’s And Don’ts Of Dealing With Sickly Staff
A recent TVNZ story has highlighted the fact that some employers have begun encouraging staff not to take sick leave by giving them an end of year bonus. What it didn’t discuss is how to deal with employees who continue to come to work, despite being clearly unwell. Those employees often have genuine reasons for continuing to…
Five Key Changes To The Health And Safety Reform Bill
We now have some certainty about the future of health and safety law in New Zealand: on Friday the Transport and Industrial Select Committee finally reported back on the Bill. Five of the key changes to the Bill (some of which had been well-rehearsed in the media) include: Employers must still engage with employees and…
Employment Law Standards Bill To Be Introduced To Parliament
An Employment Standards Bill will be introduced to Parliament later in 2015 with measures to prevent unfair employment practices. To read the full statement from Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse, click here.
Fair Pay For A Day’s Work?
Ever wondered how much the person delivering those pamphlets to your letterbox gets paid? Labour’s David Parker says not enough: his member’s bill, which would ensure that they are paid at least minimum wage, was drawn from the ballot last week. Currently, people such as couriers, paper and pamphlet deliverers can be paid less than…
Health And Safety Reform Update
For those of you waiting with bated breath for the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee to report to Parliament on the Health and Safety Reform Bill (due on 30 March), you will have to wait a little longer. The committee is not now due to report until 29 May 2015. We will keep you…
Boost To Parental Leave
On 1 April 2015 the full entitlement to paid parental leave will increase to 16 weeks. This will increase again on 1 April 2016 to 18 weeks. This means the entitlement will align more closely with Australia and the OECD average. Who is entitled to the increase? Those who have an expected due date on…
Certifying S21 Agreements Via Skype
We are often asked by clients whether a Section 21 Agreement can be certified by a solicitor via Skype (or Facetime/Webcam). Click below to read an interesting article addressing the issues arising when certifying agreements in this manner. s21 Agreements via Skype
Are There Time Limits For Dividing Your Property?
If your marriage, civil union, or de facto relationship has ended, then you should be aware that there are statutory time limits for dividing your property. Parties are often able to reach agreement in respect of the division of their property without the need for court assistance. However, in situations where parties do require Court…