Knowledge

For most, the long-awaited summer holidays have ended, and it is back to work as usual.  Unfortunately, for some, the holiday period did not provide the break that was desperately needed, and many are still feeling exhausted, tired, and burnt out. According to Radio New Zealand, the summer holidays period for many was marked with […]

On 14 November 2022, Contact Energy announced a comprehensive parental leave policy.  The ‘Growing your whanau’ policy (“the Policy”) is aimed at providing primary carers with the support and flexibility required before a child arrives and when making the transition back to work. In this article, we explore how the Policy differs to the minimum […]

With the recent media around the Employment Court decision on 25 October 2022, you might be forgiven for thinking that every Uber Driver in New Zealand is now an employee.  This is not accurate.  While we anticipate the decision will be appealed to the Court of Appeal, in the meantime, we discuss the 2022 case, […]

In our Good Employer Series, we have looked at what makes a modern-day ‘good employer’ focussing on the retention of staff in the face of labour shortages and increasing overheads. In acknowledgement of the International Week of Happiness at Work (19 -25 September 2022), this article explores the benefits employers could offer to retain their […]

The Government has announced that Monday 26 September 2022 will be a one-off public holiday commemorating Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.  A state memorial will also be held on this date. While we are still waiting on the legislation, in this article, we briefly summarise what you need to know based on the information available […]

Media headlines of late have focussed on the “perfect storm of wage inflation, increased overheads and talent shortages” in New Zealand. Organisations seeking to grow are competing with border restrictions for those trying to enter the country and many taking the opportunity to do their OE now New Zealand is opening up to the world.  […]

In this article series, we look at what makes a modern-day ‘good employer’ and explore the connection between a company’s culture and its performance.  A good employment relationship starts with a strong foundation.  Like Julie Andrews says in the Sound of Music “let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start”.   Below […]

Netflix has been in the media recently due to it quickly losing its position as a pioneer in streaming services.  The company lost 200,000 subscribers from January to March 2022.  In April 2022, the value of the company’s shares dropped 23 percent.  One could put this down to a bad quarter or poor business management.  […]

This week (9 – 14 May 2022) is Privacy Week.  The theme is Privacy: The Foundation of Trust which, at first blush, overlaps with the fundamental employment law principle of trust and confidence. This got us thinking about the many ways in which privacy and employment law intersect, and how a foundation of trust is […]

On 10 May 2022, the Employment Court released its judgment in Courage & Ors v Attorney-General & Ors[1], in which it was asked to make declarations that the three plaintiffs were employees during their time at Gloriavale. There were many factors and arguments for the Court to consider, not least of all the interrelation between […]