Insights

Employment Law

The Fair Pay Agreements Bill (“the Bill”) provides a framework for employee unions and employer representatives of a specific industry or occupation to bargain fair pay agreements (“FPAs”). FPAs are intended to set out base minimum wage rates, normal ... May 24, 2022 Employment Sports Law Incorporated Societies

The new Act has now passed into law. It is intended to make incorporated societies more robust from a governance standpoint, by introducing officers duties and requirements for dispute resolution processes. There is a transition period during which ... Apr 21, 2022 Incorporated Societies Removal and appointment of trustees who have lost capacity

New Zealand’s trust law had the most significant development in over 60 years when the Trusts Act 2019 (the Act) came into force early last year. The Act serves to clarify and improve the accessibility of trust law. This includes setting out how a ... Apr 21, 2022 Trusts Supporting gender diversity through governance structures

With the recent celebrations of International Women’s Day on 8 March, and the introduction of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, it is an opportune time to reflect on the diversity of your organisation and how you can take steps through governance to ... Apr 6, 2022 Sport Vaccine Mandates - the High Court decision on NZDF & Police

Yardley v Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety – understanding the decision declaring the government’s NZDF and Police vaccination mandates unlawful. Note - 23 March 2022: The Government has significantly loosened Covid-19 rules, removing vaccine ... Mar 21, 2022 Employment The Party on the Lawn 

The Party on the Lawn – was it okay for Trevor Mallard to use music without permission or payment? Those who live in glass houses have been throwing stones. National MP Melissa Lee asked a series of questions of Speaker of the House of Parliament Trevor ... Mar 20, 2022 Intellectual Property Remote or electronic witnessing and signing

The practice of signing documentation is a simple, yet vital, element of the legal profession, serving as a form of identification, as well as evidence of a party’s agreement to a document’s terms. Being such an integral part of law and business, it ... Mar 10, 2022 Tech & Digital Code of Conduct for Players, Coaches & Parents.

With schools starting up and school sport resuming, it is a good time for sport organisations to review and update their Code of Conduct. Your Code of Conduct should set out the expected behaviour for everyone involved – from centrefield to the sideline. ... Mar 10, 2022 Sport Sports Organisations - Using & Enforcing Covid-19 Vaccine Passes

Vaccine Passes play an important role within New Zealand’s traffic light system. Sports organisations need to put measures in place to protect their participants, and to ensure they are compliant with the COVID-19 Protection Framework, which may restrict ... Feb 14, 2022 Sport Construction: Can you de-risk inflation?

By the time you can finally make ends meet, they move the ends. We are not at the point – yet – where we will need a wheelbarrow of cash to buy a loaf of bread, but contractors may feel that way when it comes to purchasing materials. We hear every day ... Feb 10, 2022 Construction HOME BUYERS GUIDE - Buying off the plans (Part 1)

What is it? Buying a property that has not yet been built, or is in the process of being built, is commonly called buying “off the plans”. There are quite a few differences compared to buying a property that already exists. Buying off the plans is often ... Jan 25, 2022 Residential Property HOME BUYERS GUIDE - Buying off the plans (Part 2)

In part two of our Home Buyers Guide: Buying off the Plans, we explore the 'nuts and bolts' of this increasingly popular home-buying option. What is it? Buying a property that has not yet been built, or is in the process of being built, is commonly ... Jan 24, 2022 Residential Property End of Life Choice Act: understanding the process

The End of Life Choice Act 2019 (the Act) came into effect on 7 November 2021, 12 months after two-thirds of referendum voters voted in favour of legalising medically assisted dying in New Zealand. It is the most significant change in New Zealand health ... Dec 13, 2021 Wills, Estates & Elder Law Taxes on utes rules

The Government is taking action in line with the advice of the Climate Change Commission to increase uptake of low emission vehicles by introducing a range of measures that will help meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target. The Land Transport ... Nov 24, 2021 Road Transport Employment: Trial vs. probationary periods - what is the difference?

Trial and probationary periods look very similar and are used for similar reasons but they are fundamentally different. Probationary periods Section 67 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (“the Act”) provides that a probationary period must be specified ... Nov 24, 2021 Employment Brawling on and off-site – the costly effect of finger-pointing between trades

The judge said: “He seemed to me to be an old-fashioned builder who found the defendant – as a professional, assertive woman – rather difficult to deal with when things were not going well and, as a consequence, tended to avoid doing so.” The use of the ... Nov 16, 2021 Construction Case Study: Minimum wage impacts on workers in lockdown

At times it feels like a distant memory, but for some people, the battle over lost wages from Covid-19 lockdowns has continued long after the country felt it was getting back to normal…the first time. One such case came about during New Zealand’s first ... Nov 15, 2021 Employment Buyer beware when you're buying off the plans

Buying off-the-plans is becoming increasingly popular as buyers see the benefit in new builds which comply with the latest healthy home regulations, attract lower mortgage rates, and which enjoy certain tax benefits (for more information see our previous ... Nov 2, 2021 Residential Property