Insights

Jennifer Mills' interview with Mike Hosking on The Mike Hosking Breakfast (11 July 2022).  Our Covid numbers are going back up and the experts are warning of a second wave. Employers are being told to brace for another round of long periods of workers off with sick leave. But with that come responsibilities for an employer, especially around getting someone who's out [...]

This article was written by Grant Bradley and published on NZ Herald (10 July 2022). An employment lawyer has warned that bosses who require staff to work while they're sick with Covid-19 could face claims if workers become ''long haulers.'' With a surge in Covid cases and increased risk of reinfections, employment specialist Jennifer Mills says employers need to be careful. ''An employer could [...]

This article was published on Newshub (6 July 2022). To relieve pressure on general practitioners, on Tuesday the Ministry of Health told employers they can use text messages from the ministry as evidence employees either have COVID-19 or are household contact - but there are concerns it could lead to exploitation. The Ministry of Health said the text messages are "reliable evidence" employees need [...]

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has issued a discussion document in which the Government is proposing to establish statutory responsibilities to identify and combat worker exploitation across the operations and supply chains in all businesses and organisations.  MBIE defines modern slavery as the severe exploitation of a person who cannot cease work due to threats, violence or deception.  This includes [...]

The Government has introduced new legislation to provide a framework for the negotiation of sector-based and occupation-based “agreements” – which would provide for minimum employment terms to be set across all employers and employees in certain industries or occupations.  This Bill represents the biggest proposed change to our employment relations system since 2000.   Summary of the FPA process We will outline below how [...]

The New Zealand Government is currently proposing a compulsory income insurance scheme for all workers in New Zealand.  If this is established, the scheme will provide workers with 80% of their income for a total of up to seven months if their employment ends by reason of redundancy or incapacity. In short, the scheme aims to provide some extra economic security for workers who [...]

Omicron case numbers have increased significantly over the weekend and, as a result, New Zealand will move to phase two of the three-phase Omicron response at 11:59pm tonight. In this article, we set out how the move to phase two affects testing and isolation requirements and the mechanisms which employers can use to keep their businesses operating during this phase.   New self-isolation [...]

As employers consider what their organisation’s post-pandemic return to work might be, one thing is certain: working from home arrangements will become part of the new normal. Creating a sustainable flexible work environment requires consideration of many aspects of business operations. From human resources to health and safety and diversity initiatives, employers are faced with a multitude of issues to consider when developing a [...]

Summer is over, and once again, workers are returning to their makeshift home offices, with employers facing a further uncertain few months ahead over the arrival of Omicron in New Zealand.  Yesterday, Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall provided more detail on the Government’s new three-step approach to the Omicron outbreak.  In this article, we break down the three phases of the Government's new [...]