The process of collecting health information can affect both privacy and personal dignity. This is what spurred a man to complain to our office after he was asked for a urine test by his prospective employer.

An employer refused to hand over certain information to an employee who contested a job performance evaluation.

The Court of Appeal has upheld the legality of a total ban on smoking on Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB) premises. The Smoke-free Policy, in place since 2009, prohibits smoking inside and on the grounds of all WDHB sites, including its mental health units. Patients and employees who cannot leave the premises are therefore unable to smoke.

Trevor-Roberts has announced that they are now partnered with Alan Brookbanks of Changing Tack (NZ) Ltd to offer specialist executive services throughout New Zealand.

Business.govt.nz has released two light-hearted but informative employment quizzes on their website.  We had a go and got 100% – how well do you think you’d do?  Click here to give it a try!

An employee may bring a personal grievance for disadvantage if, “the employee’s employment, or one or more conditions thereof, is or are affected to the employee’s disadvantage by some unjustifiable action by the employer”. (Section 103 (1)(b) of the Employment Relations Act 2000).

The introduction of the new Employment Standards Legislation from 1 April 2016 places greater emphasis on the requirement for employers to keep clearer records for pay, time, leave and public holidays. The purpose of these changes are to make it easier to assess if employees are receiving their minimum entitlements as set out in legislation.

Employees and contractors have different rights and obligations under the employment legislation.  It is common that the distinction between an employee and contractor gets confused.

Employment standards are requirements such as the minimum wage, annual holidays and written employment agreements. They protect vulnerable workers and help to ensure workplaces are fair and competitive.

The task force, consisting of unions and employers, was previously expected to report back at the end of March.  It will now report back by the end of April.  We will update you when we hear more.