Employers are faced with making hundreds of decisions a day – some more complex than others.  In recent times, some employers have turned to Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to help them with these decisions, particularly where they involve the consideration of large amounts of information.  Other employers have used AI to monitor whether employees are […]

Black Door Law congratulates its Founder, Caroline (Caro) Rieger on being named an Elite Woman 2023 by NZ Lawyer. The team is thrilled to see Caro’s commitment to making the law a safe profession for all and her desire to do law differently being recognised in this way. NZ Lawyer’s annual Elite Women special report celebrates the achievements […]

Since the introduction of 90 day trial periods by the National government in 2011, the policy has become what many describe as a political football. After the recent 2023 election, many media articles have talked about the “return of 90 day trial periods”  implying they are currently not part of employment law. However, this is […]

In our six-part series on bullying, we covered the various rights and obligations that arise when there is bullying in the workplace.  In this article, we focus on workplace investigations as a tool to identify and address behaviours amounting to workplace bullying, as well as harassment, unreasonable behaviour, misconduct and other complaints and concerns that […]

14 July 2023 marks the second year that we officially celebrate Matariki in Aotearoa as a public holiday. Matariki is a culturally significant step in our history as it is the first public holiday which recognises and celebrates Te Ao Maōri.  Although it is our newest public holiday, the rights and obligations of employers and […]

In November 2022, the Employment Relations Authority found a hotel worker, Tracy Tahuhu, was unjustifiably dismissed and suffered unjustified disadvantage in the workplace.  A memorable fact in the case was the agreement between the parties that the worker would be paid in part with pots of Nutella and a ride-on mower.[1] In this article, we […]

8 March 2023 is International Women’s Day.  It is a day to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history. This year’s theme set by UN Women is a forward-looking one: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future.  It focuses on the representation of women in STEM industries and looks at how technology and education can be used to […]

  1 March 2023 is Zero Discrimination Day.  It celebrates the right of everyone to live a full and productive life with dignity. In New Zealand, the right to be free from discrimination is protected by law.  This right exists in our workplaces. In this article, we provide an overview of our legal framework which […]

The last few years and the Covid-19 pandemic have provided unprecedented development in employment law.  We predict there will be continued developments in the employment law space in 2023. In this article, we look at the year ahead, anticipated trends and also break down the changes that will be impacting employers and employees. Potential Change […]

A “personal grievance” is one of the main avenues for employees to take legal action against their employer if they believe their employer has acted unfairly or unreasonably towards them.  It is a legal claim that an employer has breached their legal obligations in the employment relationship. A personal grievance can be raised by an […]