Law Changes | Sharp Tudhope

EMPLOYER ASSISTED WORK VISA NO LONGER AVAILABLE

August 10, 2018

From 26 November 2018, employers will no longer able to employ students on a Post Study Work Visa. This visa was available to migrants who were on a Post Study Work Visa after completing their studies in New Zealand. The original intent of this visa was to allow students to get relevant work experience in…

Written by: Michelle Urquhart

IMPORTANT CLIENT UPDATE – ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING

May 9, 2018

New Zealand has passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (we will call it the AML/CFT law). The purpose of the law reflects New Zealand's commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has on people and economies within the global community. Recent changes...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES ARE ON THEIR WAY

February 8, 2018

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament last week. It contains provisions rolling back the last government's changes to individual terms of employment and to collective bargaining and union rights. Proposed changes to individual employment agreements include: Restricting the use of 90-day trial periods to employers with fewer than 20 employees. Reinstating the...

Written by: Shima Grice

INCOME THRESHOLDS RISE FOR RESIDENCY AND WORK VISA APPLICATIONS

February 2, 2018

On 15 January 2018 Immigration New Zealand increased the salary bands for Essential Skills work visa and Skilled Migrant residency visa applications. The increases are slight, and come about because the remuneration thresholds are indexed against the New Zealand median income. In September 2017, Statistics New Zealand announced that the average earnings from salaries and...

Written by: Michelle Urquhart

IMMIGRATION LAW UPDATE – WHY IT IS HARDER TO GET A WORK VISA

September 29, 2017

As promised, Immigration New Zealand have introduced a number of new rules under the Essential Skills Work Visa category. These rules came into effect from 28 August 2017. The most striking change is the introduction of salary bands. The bands are set depending the skill level of the job as assessed by the Australian and...

Written by: Michelle Urquhart

STAY SHARP AUGUST 2017

August 30, 2017

With the closure of Baywave TECT Acquatic & Leisure Centre this week for urgent seismic remedial work, Hamish Murray's article on strong rules for weak buildings will interest those involved with commercial buildings. There's also a number of law changes we would like clients to be aware of, including increased reporting requirements around any money...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS – CONTRACT AND COMMERCIAL LAW ACT 2017

August 10, 2017

The Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 ("CCL Act") is set to make some practical changes to a wide range of commercial contracts and will come into force on 1 September 2017. The purpose of the CCL Act is to modernise and consolidate 11 commercial contract statutes into a single piece of legislation under the...

Written by: Paul Milne

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS UPDATE – STAGE 3

April 10, 2017

In 2015 an array of amendments was made to the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA), to be implemented in three stages, namely on 1 December 2015, 1 September 2016, and 31 March 2017. Stage 3 amendments On 31 March 2017 the new retentions regime for constructions contracts came into force, which requires the payer to...

Written by: James Hakaria

MBIE WILL ENFORCE A MIGRANT EMPLOYMENT BAN ON EMPLOYERS WHO BREACH EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

April 4, 2017

From 1 April 2017, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will enforce stand down periods for employing migrants for any employer who incurs employment standards-related penalties. This new regime is designed to protect migrant workers from exploitation. This group of employees are more vulnerable than domestic workers who enjoy protection from the existing...

Written by: Michelle Urquhart

EMPLOYMENT LAW – ADDRESSING THE GENDER PAY GAP

March 24, 2017

How do you address the gender pay gap? This is the question the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles (the JWG) had to answer when it was established by the government in 2015. This group consists of government, employer and union representatives and was tasked with recommending equal pay principles for government consideration. The...

Written by: Shima Grice