No, held the Employment Court in the case of Breen and Prime
Resources Company Limited,
[1] because the company's actions were based solely on a
genuine interpretation of a clause in the employment agreement.
By Kathryn McKinney - 18 Mar 2024
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Recently, several foreign clients have asked for
assistance when the funds in their bank account disappeared. In
both situations, this was not fraud but rather banks had paid the
bank proceeds to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue (
IRD) pursuant to the Unclaimed Money Act
1971.
By Lee Harris - 29 Feb 2024
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Failure to meet the requirements under the Healthy Homes
Standards can be a timely-wake up call for any landlord, especially
when the Tenancy Tribunal comes knocking
By Ella McLeod - 25 Jan 2024
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Non-resident investors are seeing signs of increased
visibility by revenue authorities on their New Zealand
investments. With no prior notice, income tax returns
for non-residents now include a requirement for the foreign tax
identification number (TIN) and jurisdiction of tax
residency. Needless to say, many taxpayers are querying
why this has happened.
By Lee Harris - 15 Nov 2023
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Most people who have purchased properties are familiar with the
standard forms of agreements for sale and purchase. Section 24 of
the Property Law Act 2007 (Act) specifically says
that to sell or purchase property, a contract must be in writing
and signed. Long gone are the days of handshake agreements - or are
they?
By Kiren Narayanan - 9 Nov 2023
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Section 11 of the Wills Act 2007
(Wills Act) outlines the requirements for a
document to be considered a valid will. Such document must be in
writing, signed by the will-maker or by another person at the
will-maker's direction, and witnessed by at least two independent
witnesses. It is not uncommon for wills to fail to meet these
requirements if they have been drawn up without the assistance of a
lawyer or have not been properly executed prior to a person's
death. It is not the end of the road however, if a person
dies with an invalid will.
By Katie Kennedy - 28 Jun 2023
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The Employment Relations (Extended Time for
Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Act 2023
came into force on 13 June. This change allows an employee up
to 12 months to raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment,
instead of having to do so within 90 days. Employers are required
to change employment agreements from that date.
By Kathryn McKinney - 15 Jun 2023
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In this webinar, Lee
Harris (Martelli
McKegg, NZ) and Charles-Henry Tournaire (Requirem Family Office, France) will
discuss how child custody and assets in France and New Zealand are
treated differently on death, and the mess that can arise upon
death when estate planning doesn't factor in those
differences.
By Lee Harris - 12 Jun 2023
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More than a quarter of New Zealand's population is born
overseas (and more than 70% of us can trace our roots to Europe).
While these statistics reflect how attractive New Zealand is
as a destination for a new life and opportunity it also means that
when dealing with estates and estate planning, with assets
dispersed worldwide, we must carefully navigate conflicting
laws.
By Lee Harris - 1 Jun 2023
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In the most recent STEP Journal article, Polina unpacks a
recent decision issued by the NZ High Court concerning a breach of
fiduciary duty to an adult child. This case broke new legal ground
as it introduced a new tort: breaching a fiduciary duty to an adult
child.
By Polina Kozlova - 1 May 2023
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