Blog Archives - Sharp Tudhope

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE – SEVERAL CHANGES FOR EMPLOYERS

May 28, 2019

Several changes came into effect on May 6. Individual employment agreements that are not in writing are now an infringement offence under the Employment Relations (Infringement Offences) Regulations 2019. Section 65(1)(a) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 already provides that an individual employment agreement must be in writing. At present an employer failing to comply…

Written by: Shima Grice

ESTATE ADMINISTRATION – WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE DIES?

April 7, 2019

The death of a loved one is a stressful time for families and sorting out the legal aspects can be a daunting task for those left behind. The first step is to ascertain whether the deceased had a will. If the answer is yes, the executors and trustees (with assistance from the Estate Solicitors) need…

Written by: Matthew Billett

WAGE THRESHOLDS CHANGE FOR RESIDENCY AND WORK VISA APPLICATIONS

February 2, 2018

On 15 January this year Immigration New Zealand (INZ) raised the thresholds for Essential Skills work visa and Skilled Migrant residency visa applications. The increases are small, and result from changes in the median income levels in New Zealand. In September 2017, Statistics New Zealand announced that the average earnings from salaries and wages had...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Employers of Migrants face a ban for breaches of employment law

November 20, 2017

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) now has powers to apply stand down periods on employer incurs penalties relating to employment standards. These powers are there to protect migrant workers from exploitation. This group of employees enjoy the same legal protection as domestic workers but are more vulnerable due to the reliance on...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Skilled Migrant Category now has an extra hurdle

November 20, 2017

The skilled migrant category changes bring an income threshold for applications under the Skilled Migrant residence category. For a role to be considered skilled, it must have a salary that matches the New Zealand median income of $48,859 a year. This change has allowed Immigration New Zealand to recognise that some jobs that might not...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

It’s now more difficult to get a work visa

November 20, 2017

Recent rule changes to the Essential Skills Work Visa category have added new barriers to overcome in order an application approved. The biggest change is the introduction of salary bands, which are determined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). These salary bands bring with them varying privileges including the length...

Written by: Janine McTainsh