Business Law Library & Tracker
Selected Business Law Cases
Short explainers for court decisions that change how New Zealand businesses handle contracts, staff, customers, IP and company duties.
Sources last reviewed 17 Aug 2026
Main law guides
158
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
60
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
97
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
11
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpChen v Wei
Company directors must ensure their businesses comply with employment standards, including paying employees their full entitlements. If a company cannot meet its...
Edgecumbe Supermarket v Petersen
Employers must ensure that employment agreements are clear, that they follow proper procedures when addressing employee concerns or disciplinary matters, and that...
Faitala and Vea v The Pacific Island Business Development Trust
Employers must ensure that redundancy processes are genuine, transparent, and in compliance with employment agreements and good faith obligations. Employees have...
Halse & Anor v Hamilton City Council
If your business settles an employment dispute through MBIE mediation, do not treat the record of settlement as a one-off document that fades away with time. In...
Healey v Health New Zealand
The practical lesson is procedural. An employee does not need to say "I am raising a personal grievance" for a grievance to be raised. If their communications,...
healthAlliance NZ Ltd v Cunningham
If your business is in an employment dispute, treat court and Authority orders as operational deadlines, not negotiation points. In this case, the employer’s delay...
Insight New Zealand 2007 Ltd v Johnstone
For business owners, the main lesson is not that safety expectations are unimportant. It is that serious allegations need clear rules, a fair investigation and a...
Kea Investments Ltd v Wikeley
Cross-border structures and foreign judgments do not remove the need to verify the underlying contract, authority and litigation strategy. Businesses facing a...
LMN v STC
LMN v STC shows that New Zealand employers must get consent before contacting employee references and must process sick leave correctly when medical certificates...
Manawatu Motors 1970 Ltd v Renner
Manawatu Motors 1970 Ltd v Renner shows that employees who undermine their employer’s business relationships or breach loyalty duties can be liable for damages....
National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges Nga Whare Whakaruruhau O Aotearoa v Love & Crestani
For ordinary employers, the lasting lesson is about responsibility. Even where another organisation funds you, audits you, sets standards, requires reporting, or...
Rooney Farms Limited v Stewart
If your business is thinking about challenging an Employment Relations Authority determination, do not assume that challenge buys you time on payment. It does not....
Singh v McKee
Employers must ensure redundancy processes are thorough, fair, and well-documented to avoid findings of unjustified dismissal. When dismissals are challenged,...
St Arnaud Alpine Store 2019 Ltd v Labour Inspector
For business owners, the durable lesson is about exposure rather than legal technicalities. If payroll, hours, leave, breaks and records are not properly managed, a...
Wilson Parking New Zealand Limited v Turner
The durable lesson from this case is procedural discipline. If your defence includes the point that someone else also caused the loss, do not wait until the...
Allied Investments Ltd v Jones
Employers must ensure that any changes to employment terms, such as commission structures, are clearly communicated and agreed upon with employees. Failure to do so...
Bread of Life Christian Church in Auckland v Chen
Bread of Life Christian Church in Auckland v Chen confirms that employment law applies to religious and charitable organisations when they employ staff. The courts...
Brown v The Clinician Holdings Ltd
If your business engages independent contractors, ensure their working arrangements do not resemble those of employees. Factors such as control over work hours,...
DBM Medical Ltd v Gaarkeuken
Employers should handle performance management carefully, ensuring that any concerns are communicated clearly and fairly. If an employee resigns, it is crucial to...
IDEA Services Ltd v Wills
Employers must not assume that a government mandate alone justifies skipping proper dismissal procedures. Even in urgent or challenging circumstances, you must...
Lyttelton Port Company Limited v Maritime Union of New Zealand
Employers should ensure any health monitoring policy is consistent with the terms of collective agreements and statutory obligations. Policies that go beyond agreed...
Lyttelton Port Company Ltd v Maritime Union of New Zealand and Anor
Employers planning restructures should carefully review their collective agreements to ensure they meet consultation requirements. The Court confirmed that...
McGearty v Air New Zealand Ltd
Employers cannot rely solely on collective agreements or industry standards to justify actions that disadvantage employees due to age. They must actively consider...
Soapi and Others v Pick Hawkes Bay Inc
Employers must be careful when making deductions from employees’ wages, especially for accommodation and other costs. Deductions must be lawful, agreed to in...
The Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children v Hill
Employers operating in high-risk environments, such as youth justice facilities, must ensure that their staff are well-trained in the use of force and understand...
Tighe-Umbers v Jetconnect Limited
Employers must not rush to dismiss staff who cannot comply with health orders. Instead, they should carefully consider all reasonable alternatives, including leave...
Tillmans Fine Furniture Ltd v Rookes
Employers must be careful when offering fixed-term contracts, especially after dismissing an employee from a permanent role. The Court found that Tillmans Fine...
Westgate Town Centre Limited (In Liquidation) v Westgate Properties Limited
If an outcome is commercially critical, put it into the contract in clear operational terms. Do not assume a shared project vision, planning framework or agreed...
Xu v Pioneer Education and Immigration Services Group Ltd
Employers must be careful when dismissing staff, especially where the dismissal is found to be unjustified. Compensation for lost earnings, emotional harm, and...
Yang v Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand
Employers must be transparent and fair when addressing performance concerns, especially in regulated environments. If an employee is placed on a supported training...
YFR v Reserve Bank of New Zealand/Te Pūtea Matua
Employers must uphold good faith and natural justice obligations, especially when dealing with employees nearing the end of fixed-term agreements. This includes: -...
Young v Port of Tauranga Ltd
Employers must comply with government vaccination orders and apply them fairly to affected roles. If an employee claims an exemption, the employer should check its...
Youtap Ltd v Johnston
The Court's decision underscores that the true employer is determined by mutual intention and actual control, not just contractual arrangements. Businesses...
Auckland Trotting Club Inc v Payne
Employers cannot rely on verbal agreements to change written employment contracts. Changes to pay structures, particularly involving commissions or bonuses, must be...
Caleys Ltd v Deadman
Employers should not rely on blanket forfeiture clauses to recover wages when an employee resigns without notice. Such clauses are likely to be seen as penalties...
Carrington Jade LP v Grant
Employers must ensure they correctly classify workers as casual or permanent employees, comply with holiday pay obligations, and follow fair dismissal procedures....