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Employment Law Articles
Expert articles and practical legal guides on employment law for new zealand businesses.
Do Your Employees Have The Right To Work In New Zealand? (2026 Updated)
Hiring your first (or fiftieth) team member is exciting - but it also comes with some legal admin you can’t afford to skip. One of the biggest “from day one” checks is...
6 January 2025
Creating A Mentally Healthy Business During COVID-19 (2026 Updated)
COVID-19 has changed the way many New Zealand businesses operate - not just in terms of supply chains, remote work and customer demand, but also in terms of how teams cope under...
6 January 2025
What Happens To My Employees When I Sell My Business? (2026 Updated)
Selling your business is a big moment. You’ve built something valuable, and now you’re ready to move on (or move up). But if you have staff, one question usually sits right at...
6 January 2025
Seconding Your Employees? You Need A Secondment Agreement (2026 Updated)
Secondments can be a win-win: your employee gets development opportunities, your business strengthens relationships with clients or partners, and the host organisation gets skilled support without going through a full recruitment process....
6 January 2025
An Employer’s Guide To Garden Leave (2026 Updated)
You’ve just received notice from a key employee that they’re resigning - or you’re in the middle of a sensitive exit, redundancy, or dispute. Either way, you’re probably thinking the same thing:...
6 January 2025
Casual Worker Leave Entitlements (2026 Updated)
Hiring casual staff can be a great way to stay flexible - especially if your busy periods change week to week. But “casual” doesn’t mean “no rules”, and leave entitlements are one...
6 January 2025
The Importance Of Workplace Policies And Staff Handbooks (2026 Updated)
If you’re running a business in New Zealand, you’ll probably spend a lot of time thinking about customers, cashflow and growth. But the day-to-day reality is that most “business-ending” problems start internally...
6 January 2025
Do I Need A Whistleblower Policy? (2026 Updated)
If you’re running a business in New Zealand, it’s normal to assume whistleblowing is only something “big corporates” need to think about. But in practice, any workplace can face situations where someone...
6 January 2025
What Do Employment Lawyers Do? (2026 Updated)
When you’re running a business, people issues can quickly become legal issues. You might be hiring your first employee, dealing with performance problems, navigating a resignation that came out of nowhere, or...
6 January 2025
Performance Management And Employee Termination (2026 Updated)
Managing people is one of the most rewarding parts of running a business - and, at times, one of the trickiest. When performance issues come up, it’s normal to feel stuck between...
6 January 2025
What Does the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) Say About Work Breaks? (2026 Updated)
When you’re running a small business, work breaks can feel like one of those “simple” topics that somehow turns into a headache the moment you’ve got a busy roster, a lean team,...
6 January 2025
What Are Redundancy Entitlements? (2026 Updated)
Redundancy is one of those business topics that can feel straightforward in theory (“we no longer need this role”), but complicated in practice once you’re dealing with people, process, and legal obligations....
6 January 2025
Sub-Contracting And Head Contracts: Here’s What You Need To Know (2026 Updated)
If you run a business that delivers work through other people (tradies, consultants, creatives, developers, labour hire teams, specialist subcontractors), sub-contracting can be a smart way to scale without hiring employees. But...
6 January 2025
What Is An Employment Separation Certificate? (2026 Updated)
If you’ve just had an employee leave your business (or you’re in the middle of ending someone’s employment), you might be asked for an Employment Separation Certificate - and if you haven’t...
6 January 2025
How Many Sick Days Do You Get A Year? (2026 Updated)
Whether you’re running a small business or you’ve just hired your first employee, sick leave is one of those topics that sounds simple until you’re the one dealing with an absence, payroll,...
6 January 2025
You Can’t Ask That! Illegal Questions In Interviews (2026 Updated)
Hiring your next team member can be exciting - but interviews can also be a legal minefield if you’re not careful. Most employers aren’t trying to do the wrong thing. The problem...
6 January 2025
Keeping Your Staff Safe: Domestic Violence and Working From Home (2026 Updated)
Working from home can be a genuine win for productivity and flexibility. But for some people, home isn’t the safest place to be. Domestic violence (sometimes called family violence) can escalate when...
6 January 2025
How Does Payment In Lieu Of Notice Work In New Zealand? (2026 Updated)
Ending an employment relationship is rarely straightforward. Even when both sides agree it’s time to move on, questions about the notice period, final pay, and whether the employee needs to work out...
6 January 2025
An Employer’s Guide To Leave Loading (2026 Updated)
“Leave loading” is one of those payroll terms that gets thrown around a lot - especially if you’ve hired staff who’ve previously worked in Australia, or you’ve inherited legacy employment documents with...
6 January 2025
Concerned About Competition From A Former Employee, Contractor Or Service Provider? A Non-Compete Agreement May Be The Solution (2026 Updated)
It’s a common (and very reasonable) worry: you invest time and money building up your customer base, refining your systems, and training people to deliver your service… and then someone leaves and...
6 January 2025
Working As A Contractor (2026 Updated)
Contracting can be a great way to work - you’ve usually got more flexibility, you can choose the projects you take on, and you can build a business around your skills. But...
6 January 2025
Confidentiality Clauses: What Are They & How Can You Enforce Them? (2026 Updated)
When you’re building a business, you’re inevitably going to share sensitive information with other people - employees, contractors, suppliers, investors, and even potential buyers. That’s exciting (it usually means you’re growing), but...
6 January 2025
Can Employees Be Forced To Take Annual Leave? (2026 Updated)
Annual leave sounds simple in theory: your employee takes time off, gets paid, and comes back refreshed. In real life, it can get messy fast - especially when business is quiet, you’re...
6 January 2025
What Is An Employer's Duty Of Care? (2026 Updated)
If you’re employing staff (or you’re about to hire your first team member), one question comes up fast: what exactly do you owe your employees, legally, when it comes to keeping them...
5 January 2025
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