Latest updates

19 February 2026

Employment Relations Amendment Bill

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2025 has passed its third reading in Parliament and will come into force the day after it receives Royal Assent. We have written a summary of the key changes.

11 February 2026

Commercial eSpeaking - Summer 2026

In the Summer 2026 issue of Commercial eSpeaking: Uber drivers are employees - for now; New Zealand's criminal cartel regime; Business briefs: Launch of the new Business Investor Visa; Responsible AI usage; HelloFresh and the Fair Trading Act 1986.

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31 July 2025

Federated Farmers Podcast - Avoiding Legal Trouble on farm: what every farmer should know

Episode 44 of the Federated Farmers podcast features NWM Senior Associate Simon Middlemiss, discussing employment legal issues on the farm. This is a must-listen for all farmer employers.

9 July 2025

High Court Backs Wide Discretion in Arbitration Costs

In McCracken v Boyer, the High Court upheld a six-figure costs award made by an arbitrator — roughly two-thirds of the successful party’s actual legal and arbitration expenses. The losing party challenged the award, arguing it was excessive and that Court-style cost rules should have applied. The Court disagreed ...

24 February 2025

2025 Tenancy Law Reform

Need to end a residential tenancy? Want to get a new tenant in quickly? On 30 January 2025 the government shortened the notice periods to end residential tenancies and enabled landlords to get a declaration that a tenant has abandoned a property.

Read our article 2025 Tenancy Law Reform to find out more.

22 November 2023

Alcohol licensing and Christmas Parties

For any Christmas party, there are a range of matters to consider under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, as well as potential employment and health and safety obligations, and reputational issues.

5 October 2023

Turner v Te Whatu Ora - A good reminder on social media usage

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok posts outside work time, even with privacy settings in place, can still impact your employment. Most workplaces now have policies regarding social media use, so it pays to really think before posting something you might regret later. We outline a recent case.

31 October 2022

Uber Drivers - Employees

The Employment Court recently released its decision in a case involving four Uber drivers who each sought declarations they were employees for the purposes of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (“Act”). Updated 13 June 2023.

1 June 2023

New Zealand Steel Ltd v Haddad [2023] NZEempC57

The Employment Court’s decision in New Zealand Steel Ltd v Haddad is a useful reminder to employers everywhere undertaking workplace change that you need to get the basics right.

25 August 2022

Significant Delays in Current Alcohol Licensing Processes

Under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, the Police and MOH have a 15 working day period in which to file a report on the application with the local District Licensing Committee (DLC). Ordinarily, this is a straightforward process, and the 15 working day period gives applicants some certainty around reporting timeframes...

9 August 2022

Changes Coming to Alcohol Laws?

There are a number of changes potentially coming to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (Act) – the majority of which come from Auckland Central and Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s Amendment Bill, which was drawn from the member’s Ballot on 30 June 2022.

26 July 2022

Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 - the expansion of serious wrongdoing

This article expands on our previous article on the new Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 which came into force on 1 July 2022.

30 May 2022

Changes to protected disclosures framework for organisations.

The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 (Act) will be repealed and replaced by the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill (Bill) on 1 July 2022.

13 April 2022

Life at COVID traffic light orange

The government’s decision to move the entire country into the Orange setting of its Protective Framework (effective 14 April 2022) changes several requirements Kiwis will have become used to under the Red setting.

20 March 2022

When is an employment settlement agreement 'full and final'?

Employment relationship problems can be a relatively common occurrence. They can be complex and may need intervention from a representative or third party to settle. When these types of problems happen, an employer and employee will want certainty from any settlement agreement.

26 August 2021

Cancelling Commercial Leases in a COVID-19 World

Along with the current impacts of COVID-19 on our everyday lives, law changes made by the Government are also having an ongoing effect on relationships between commercial landlords and their tenants.

18 August 2021

COVID-19 - Key Updates - August 2021

Lockdown employment law tips - The country has gone into a snap nationwide Level 4 lockdown. The lockdown is fast-moving, so this information may evolve as the situation develops. We have all experienced a lockdown before, however, this is the most sudden countrywide lockdown to date.

15 August 2021

Fair Pay Agreements

At the beginning of May, the Government announced their proposal for a Fair Pay Agreement System. If enacted, this will be a significant overhaul of employment relations law in New Zealand.

20 July 2021

Farm Debt Mediation

1 July 2021 was the first anniversary of the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2019 fully coming into force. It’s now an opportune time to be reminded how the Farm Debt Mediation Scheme operates.

5 July 2021

Working Visas for Rural Employers

Migrant workers play a critical role in filling job openings not filled by local labour. However, it’s important for employers to understand that there are significant differences between employing New Zealand citizens and employing migrant
workers.

20 June 2021

New Zealand approves paid leave after a miscarriage or still-birth

As of 1 April 2021, the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Act 2021 took effect. This act gives grieving parents three days of bereavement leave following a miscarriage or stillbirth.

16 February 2021

Alcohol licensing: Police Opposition to Licence Applications

Under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (the Act), the Police must look into alcohol licence applications and file a report with the District Licensing Committee (DLC) within 15 working days if they have matters in opposition to the application. DLCs are committees appointed by local authorities to consider and determine alcohol licence applications.

7 December 2020

Christmas Parties and Confidential Information — A Potentially Dangerous Mix

The silly season is nearly here and more importantly 2020 is almost over! Before we can say goodbye to one of the strangest and most challenging years, we get to enjoy the tradition of the work Christmas party.

30 November 2020

New requirements under the Privacy Act 2020 — Mandatory notifications for serious privacy breaches

The new Privacy Act 2020 (Act) comes into force on 1 December 2020. One of the more significant changes introduced is the requirement of mandatory breach notifications for serious breaches of privacy. This new framework places a higher responsibility on agencies to notify the Privacy Commissioner and affected individual(s) when there has been a serious breach.

30 November 2020

Overhaul of the Privacy Act — New changes coming into force 1 December 2020

The Privacy framework in New Zealand is due for its first major overhaul since the commencement of the Privacy Act 1993.

29 October 2020

Labour's Workplace Relations & Safety policy

Labour’s Workplace Relations Safety policy promises more sick leave, increased wages, pay equity, and increased protections for vulnerable workers. Given the strong mandate Labour has received to govern, it’s likely changes to New Zealand’s employment law are imminent.

10 September 2020

Attention Landlords and Tenants — key changes are coming!

There have been significant amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) which came into force on 12 August 2020. The changes are rolling out in three “stages”.

3 September 2020

Enforcement of commercial rent if parties have not agreed on a fair reduction during lockdown

Clause 27.5 of the Auckland District Law Society’s commercial lease broadly states that only a fair rental and outgoings is payable when the lessee has not been able to access the premises fully. It’s widely accepted that the clause applies to the Covid-19 lockdown.

23 July 2020

Remote working - the new normal

As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, some employees were required to work remotely from their homes. Some have now found “the grass is greener on the other side” and want these arrangements to continue.

9 July 2020

Enforcement of personal guarantees

The impact of COVID-19 will see some companies facing liquidation or entering into creditor compromises. Many companies are unable to pay their debts on time or are paying reduced amounts. The new business debt hibernation might also begin to be used more widely which could slow or reduce payments further and some creditors won’t survive financially if they can’t recover more of their accounts receivable. Creditors tend to be pushing hard for payment now and generally New Zealanders are giving each other as much leeway as possible to get through this tough time together.

29 June 2020

Triangular Employment Relationships

All businesses should be aware of an employment law change which came into effect on 27 June 2020, particularly businesses that use labour-hire companies, temping agencies, or regular contractors.

5 April 2020

COVID-19 FAQ Sheet for Employers

Providing employers with general information about the Government’s COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS).

29 March 2020

Covid-19 and Service Tenancies

On 25 March 2020, the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Act 2020 was passed and received royal assent. This included some major changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) with temporary effect (three months at the moment but to be reconsidered).

26 March 2020

Commercial Leases & Covid-19

Many tenants and landlords are wondering how the current Alert Level 4 Lockdown (Lockdown) affects their commercial leases. This article provides a short general explanation of the potential legal effect of the Lockdown on your lease.

10 July 2018

Drug Testing to ensure health & safety in the workplace

Employers need to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that their staff, contractors and the general public are kept safe. One area an employer can influence is being vigilant about its staff and contractors being impaired by drugs or alcohol when at work.

12 December 2019

Employer obligations when hosting Christmas parties

For employers, a well executed Christmas party can be an important boost to staff morale and team spirit; however, if employers aren’t careful, issues arising at the Christmas party can result in a longer lasting headache than otherwise expected.