In the first series of Employment Essentials, we explore key topics in employment law including employee/independent contractor classification, employer health and safety obligations, Privacy Act requests and breaches, and restructuring processes.

Welcome to our new Employment Essentials series, where we cover employee/independent contractor classification, employer health and safety obligations, Privacy Act requests and breaches, and restructuring processes.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, microbiologist Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles became a household name, with her signature pink hair and ability to distil the complex and theoretical into the human and relevant. While she was celebrated for her Covid-19 public communications, a vocal minority subjected Associate Professor Wiles to online and in-person abuse and harassment.

The Select Committee has now reported back to Parliament on the Fair Pay Agreements Bill, which was introduced in March 2022. We have updated our earlier article on the Bill to reflect the changes made and to include everything you need to know about the Bill in one place. Overall, despite the significant volume of feedback provided by interested parties, the Select Committee has recommended that the Bill be passed with relatively few changes. As a result, the Bill will likely soon become law with many questions as to how it will work in practice remaining.

The long-anticipated Fair Pay Agreements Bill was introduced to Parliament earlier this week. The Bill proposes a framework for collective bargaining for Fair Pay Agreements that would set minimum employment terms across specific industries or occupations.

The Government has now released new draft legislation regarding vaccination in an employment context (COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill) (Bill).

Many employers will be breathing a sigh of relief today as the Court of Appeal confirmed that genuinely discretionary payments included in contractual documents can be excluded from holiday pay calculations.

As everyone is aware, Auckland returned to Level 3 at 6:00 am on Sunday morning, with the rest of the country returning to Level 2. At this stage, New Zealand will remain at these levels until 6:00 am on Sunday, 7 March 2021.