As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the globe, many
employers are contemplating the potential effects on their
businesses, not just from a down-turn in trade but the very real
possibility that they may end up with multiple staff absences over
an extended length of time. Below we answer some of the common
questions our employer clients are asking.
By Claire Mansell - 16 Mar 2020
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We are delighted to welcome Andrew Skinner to the
partnership. Andrew is an experienced commercial lawyer with
specialist industry experience in building and construction and
franchising.
By Melissa Higham - 4 Feb 2020
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A proposed new change to insolvency law is good news for
unsecured creditors. As the law currently stands, when a
director is successfully sued for breaches of duties to the
company, any recovery is an asset of the company. This means
that the money is subject to a secured creditor claim and quite
possibly will not be available at all as a dividend to unsecured
creditors.
By Tony Johnson - 19 Dec 2019
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We are often asked about the rules and regulations around
building consents. We have put together answers to some of the most
frequently asked questions.
By Meika McHardy - 12 Dec 2019
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The recent Court of Appeal decision in Guest v
Guest [2019] NZCA 64 stands as a reminder to trustees
that if they do not act reasonably, then they may be exposing
themselves to a significant costs liability.
By Terri Gough - 10 Nov 2019
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The Disputes Tribunal has just increased the financial
threshold for submitting a claim to $30,000. Until 29 October 2019,
a party could only file a claim up to a maximum of $15,000 (or
$20,000 with both parties' agreement). At this low sum it meant
that parties who wanted to pursue claims slightly over $15,000
faced the prospect of either writing off a portion of the debt to
pursue their claim in the Tribunal, or abandoning it all
together.
By Pierce Bedogni - 1 Nov 2019
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Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the risk that
drug-taking poses to a workplace. However, employers should tread
carefully when deciding to drug test employees. The employers in
the recent case A v N learned this lesson the
hard way.
By Claire Mansell - 10 Oct 2019
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Family demographics have changed significantly over the
past 60 years. To keep up, the Property (Relationships) Act
1976 (PRA) was amended in 2002 to extend the property sharing to
heterosexual and homosexual de facto and civil union
partners.
By Dharsh Nanayakkara - 26 Sep 2019
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The Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill
has passed its third reading in parliament and will come into force
by at least 27 June 2020. The Bill allows for a "controlling third
party" to be joined to a personal grievance claim in the Employment
Relations Authority. This means that an individual employee can
bring a claim against both their 'official' employer and any other
controlling third party.
By Claire Mansell - 4 Sep 2019
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In 2015 the Court of Appeal told landlords they could not
recover the cost of damage caused by their residential tenants
unless it was done intentionally. This was because the Property Law
Act 2007 said that a landlord could not require a tenant to meet
the cost of damage which can be insured against. From 27
August 2019 the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 dictates the law on
this issue.
By Mathew Martin - 28 Aug 2019
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