“Never A White Flag”, the memoirs of Jock Barnes, the leader of the 1951 Waterfront Workers strike/lockout – was the war cry of New Zealand’s longest industrial dispute, and according to the waterfront workers it was a lockout, not a strike.

I sat in a meeting earlier this week and I heard a conversation play out between an employer and their former employee who was made redundant as a result of COVID-19. It was a conversation I have heard many times before, not just as a result of the pandemic but as part of the numerous summaries given around how an employment relationship had broken down.

A new employment court finding further explores the commonly vexed question of when a contractor may actually be an employee. Leota v Parcel Express Ltd concerns a courier driver who has been engaged as a contractor but argued that he was not “in business for himself” as an independent contractor, rather he is actually an employee of the company. Whilst this judgement is fact-specific and does not mean that all courier drivers in New Zealand are employees, Chief Judge Christina Inglis conducts an in-depth analysis that sheds light on the real test – asking “what is the real nature of the relationship?”

When it comes to working and COVID-19, businesses have had to navigate the obstacles and new requirements that come with Alert Level 3. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been assisting and supporting clients manage their workplace and deal with the tough COVID-19 questions. We would like to share our top 4 commonly asked questions from April that may help your business adjust to the “new normal” and weather the lockdown period.

It is likely that the public holidays will fall within New Zealand’s Alert 4 COVID-19 lockdown period, which means employers are beginning to ask questions about how they will pay their employees’ wages when they are receiving the government subsidies as well as beginning to face potential hardship. As employers’ obligations are not limited to just public holidays, we have answered some of these questions, and more, below:

From 11.59pm on Wednesday 25th March 2020, the only businesses/jobs open in New Zealand are those that are considered “essential” as they are either services for health, safety, welfare or essential infrastructure.

With COVID-19 changing the entire landscape for the global and local economy, it is not just the health impacts but the potential for damage to businesses and their ability to weather the storm that comes into sharp focus.

With COVID-19 changing the entire landscape for the global and local economy, it is not just the health impacts but the potential for damage to businesses and their ability to weather the storm that comes into sharp focus.

There has been a lot of news coverage and new information released about COVID-19 in the last couple of weeks. Here are some frequently asked questions that we have received from our clients. They may answer some questions you have as an employer or prompt you to get ahead of any potential questions that your employees may come to you with.

The effect of the COVID-19 virus on our economy is likely to be significant. As a consequence, some employers are going to need to take costs out of their businesses in order to weather the present environment.