news and events

We often hear about employers attempting to terminate an employment relationship by way of medical incapacity, only to be stung in the Authority later on for “crying halt” too soon (more on this later), or for getting it procedurally wrong. Morton v Farmers’; Trading Company Ltd [2021] NZERA 64 demonstrates that, thankfully, employers can medically exit an employee and come away unscathed.

In these times of change and innovation, overseas investment will play a crucial part in supporting the growth and recovery of New Zealand’s economy. Over the last twelve months, changes to the overseas investment legislation have been introduced which seek to balance New Zealand’s stated aim of attracting investment and support for kiwi businesses whilst protecting New Zealand’s national interests. This month, these changes bring us new criteria for the “investor test”, the continued application of the temporary notification regime and consultation on changes to the application fee structure.

If you are planning on buying or selling a business this year, you need to be aware of the new tax rules that are intended to come into effect on 1 July 2021. These new rules will impact the way parties to a transaction allocate the purchase price between business assets and will need to be considered and addressed in the negotiation and documentation of your transaction terms.

With a rather significant portion of New Zealanders (about one in four) expressing reservations about the COVID-19 vaccination, employers have had to turn their minds to a sticky legal question: can they insist on employees getting vaccinated?

Certainty, transparency and practicality; these are the straplines of the Holidays Act Taskforce’s Report on its review of the Holidays Act 2003. Having read, and re-read parts of the Taskforce’s Report (for certainty) I was actually pleased that it has achieved what it set out to accomplish.

The Government has officially accepted the Holidays Act Taskforce’s (Taskforce) recommendation to overhaul the Holidays Act 2003 (Act), a convoluted piece of legislation that has caused much grief and confusion over the years, with offenders the likes of McDonalds, the Police, and even the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the very Ministry responsible for overseeing the application of the Act.

From 9 February 2021 the COVID-19 Short-term Absence Payment became available for businesses to apply for. The COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment involves a one-off payment of $350.00 to employers for each employee who is in self quarantine and unable to work from home, while they wait for the results of their COVID-19 test.

In line with their election promises, the Government has introduced the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill (Bill), which is set to double the minimum employee sick leave entitlement from 5 days to 10 days per year. This article sets out what you need to know about this upcoming amendment.

Lane Neave’s highly regarded Workplace Law specialists will be providing invaluable insights into the modern workplace through this series of timely workshops.

In the Court of Appeal case of Labour Inspector v Tourism Holdings Limited [2021] NZCA 1, ’driver guides’, employed by Tourism Holdings Limited (Tourism Holdings) claimed Tourism Holdings had short-changed them by omitting commission sums when calculating how much to pay them for annual leave.