The Government’s Domestic Violence – Victim’s Protection Bill has passed its last vote in parliament. It will come into force on 1 April 2019. The bill gives new entitlements to victims of domestic violence and puts strict obligations on their employers to ensure those entitlements are met.

When an employer fires an employee for misconduct but gets the process wrong, the first thing they tend to ask us is “doesn’t the employee’s bad behaviour matter at all?” The answer is a little complex – but it usually boils down to a matter of how much the bad behaviour contributed to the situation.

The old adage “sticks and stones” may apply to squabbling children, but it certainly doesn’t apply where an employer’s words or actions lead to an unjustifiable sacking. Many employers see employment (and its termination) as a purely business transaction, and are shocked to find out that employees can claim for injury to feelings.

With property prices around the country reaching record highs, many people are looking to relocatable houses as a faster or more cost-effective option than building from new. Done properly, homeowners or investors can get that chocolate-box villa or bungalow set up on the site of their choice for a fraction of the cost of a new-build. However there are a few things people should consider before getting a house on the road.

With New Zealand First’s decision to form a coalition government with Labour and the Greens, it is difficult to predict which policies will be implemented in the Employment space. In all the election hoopla focusing on tax, water and “the economy” you may have missed some of the key employment policies.

I regularly get employer clients asking “but what if I catch an employee red-handed – surely I can fire them on the spot?” The answer is no - not even then. Employers still have to follow a fair process.

Something I hear pretty regularly from clients is: “What can I do when a staff member swears at their manager/storms off site?” The legal answer is the same as with any employee misbehaviour – taking a moment to cool off and consider how serious the behaviour actually was (and following a fair process). In this blog post I have set out a few of the key issues which crop up in these situations.

On 1 April 2016 amendments to the Employment Relations Act came into force. There were a raft of changes, but the most publicity was given to the prohibition of “zero hour” contracts. From that date, any new employment agreements had to comply with the new requirements.

Statutory demand notices are commonly used as a helpful tool to create leverage to collect undisputed debts. Despite the unassuming look of these documents, statutory demands can have significant legal and financial implications for both the issuing party and the company on the receiving end.