Knowledge

With many businesses approaching their annual holiday closedown period, it is important for employers to make sure they are complying with their obligations under the Holidays Act 2003. Giving staff notice of the closedown period A large number of businesses will choose to partially or fully shut their operations over the holiday period.  This is […]

Today (26 October 2021), the Government announced further vaccination mandate.  The mandate covers workers working at any businesses where vaccine passports are required for patrons. This will include hospitality businesses, hairdressers and gyms. Here is a summary of what has been announced: Timing – the timing of these changes remains unclear. However, the indication is […]

Southern Cross Health Insurance and Business New Zealand recently published their Workplace Wellness Report 2021.  Trends from the report show organisations are taking a more active role in looking after employee wellbeing, in recognition of its impact on productivity. Employers have also been more open to adopting flexible working arrangements than previous years.  We break […]

On 11 October 2021, the Government announced that the Health and Disability sector and Education sector are going to be covered by the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021.  We are waiting on the details of the Order but what we know from the Government Press Release is that: The Government considers the education […]

On 1 September 2021, GF v New Zealand Customs Service – the first decision addressing a situation where an employee was terminated due to not being vaccinated – was issued. The result – the employee was not unjustifiably dismissed or disadvantaged by New Zealand Customs Service (the employer) after being terminated for not being vaccinated. […]

On Monday 30 August 2021, Black Door Law’s Director and Principal Lawyer, Caro Rieger, talked with Radio New Zealand’s the Panel.  The subject – Why is there still so much confusion about whether or not employees who cannot work because of the Government’s directives are entitled to be paid during lockdown? Why are we still […]

Today (26 August 2021) ‘affected’ people – being people working in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, airports and aircrafts – are required to have had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. What this means is that unless they meet the valid exceptions under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 (the vaccination order), […]

Once again New Zealand is at Alert Level 4. We have been here before, in many ways it feels like we are returning to “business as usual”.  However, it is not any easier this time around. There is the return of the uncertainty around balancing work and family commitments, looking after our physical and mental […]

From our previous articles you know what burnout is, and you know what causes it, but how do you spot it or the risk of it around you? In this article, we discuss how leaders, employers and employees can spot objective signs of burnout and how employers and leaders can move to address burnout in the workplace.   How […]

The power of technology has increased and so has the ability for it to enable work to occupy our personal time and space. This has led to increased stress and risks of burnout. Technology has shaped a new way of working. While many employees have been offered more flexibility as a result of mandatory lockdowns, our […]