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THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES PROPOSED BY THE LABOUR COALITION GOVERNMENT

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

1. Wages will be higher In addition to the 2018 increase to the minimum wage, which will then be $16.50 before tax, the Government will continue to incrementally push up the minimum wage to $20 before tax by April 2021. The philosophy driving these calculations is that Labour wants to see the minimum wage sitting [...]

THE DANGERS OF RELYING ON EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BUILDERS

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Employers beware: In a judgment last week, the Employment Court has criticised an employer for relying on a template from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in drafting its employment agreements. This led to a murky situation where, according to the contract, the employer had its employee on simultaneous probation and trial periods. The [...]

THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN “CASTING COUCH” EFFECT IN NZ

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Where is the line in the sand to be drawn? What is the decider between harassment and a consensual relationship between employer and employee? What is appropriate behaviour? The Harvey Weinstein outing highlights deficiency in NZ workplace sexual harassment laws. Buckettlaw says it is timely to reassess these. What Is Sexual Harassment? The law is [...]

CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

How sacrosanct are confidentiality clauses? When can the corporate veil be lifted for greater transparency and accountability? Leading employment law expert Barbara Buckett had a thing or two to say on the matter. RNZ recently approached Barbara for comment on the issue of whether Dunedin City Counsellors were justified in seeking greater transparency and accountability [...]

PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING DURING AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP, LEGALLY DUBIOUS?

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Leading Employment Law specialist and Principal of BuckettLaw, Barbara Buckett, had a thing or two to say about psychometric testing during an ongoing employment relationship. Check out the audio from RNZ's piece aired earlier this morning during RNZ's Morning Report Programme. Listen to the RNZ piece here or read the full article here. Barbara assisted Stuff.co.nz in a [...]

EMPLOYMENT LAW AFFECTS IMMIGRATION, NEW LAW BITES

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Employers beware of non-compliance with minimum employment standards. Around 70 New Zealand business have been banned from hiring migrant workers after being found to have been in breach of minimum employment standards. Yesterday Stuff.co.nz/Fairfax Media NZ released an article on the topic. Interestingly, the businesses were banned from employing migrant workers for up to two [...]

DISASTER ZONE – PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS FOR THE WORST

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Living and working in Wellington the possibility of a natural disaster is something everyone needs to be aware of. While disasters cannot be averted, the impact on your business, from an employment standpoint is easily minimised. This week we look at what employers can do to be prepared. When Disaster Strikes As a starting point, [...]

RESTRUCTURE ADVICE

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

Any business aims to maximise efficiency and reduce costs. Sometimes this will require a restructure. However, employers need to plan their actions very carefully when restructuring. Riley v Wholesale Cars Direct[1] The recent case between Peter Riley and Wholesale Cars Direct is an example of an employer really dropping the ball. The size of the [...]

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

MINIMUM WAGE As of 1st April, the minimum wage has increased to $15.75 per hour for employees over 16 and to $12.60 for employees starting out or in training. EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ACT AMENDMENTS The changes introduced in 2015 are now mandatory for all employment agreements, meaning existing contracts need to be updated. Key points include: [...]

APPROACHING PERFORMANCE REVIEWS TACTFULLY

7 May 2020 By Buckettlaw In News & Announcements No Comments

The Employment Court recently considered whether an employer’s decisions within a performance review process could amount to a constructive dismissal (i.e.: where employment circumstances effectively force an employee to resign). Dr Henderson was the Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. She left her employment after the DHB Chief Executive [...]

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES PROPOSED BY THE LABOUR COALITION GOVERNMENT

THE DANGERS OF RELYING ON EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BUILDERS

THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN “CASTING COUCH” EFFECT IN NZ

CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING DURING AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP, LEGALLY DUBIOUS?

EMPLOYMENT LAW AFFECTS IMMIGRATION, NEW LAW BITES

DISASTER ZONE – PREPARING YOUR BUSINESS FOR THE WORST

RESTRUCTURE ADVICE

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

APPROACHING PERFORMANCE REVIEWS TACTFULLY

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