Email me when new articles are published
Signup to receive Jackson Russell content
Written by David Alizade, PARTNER; Darryl King, PARTNER on September 29th, 2022.
The Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) was amended last month to ban businesses from engaging in unconscionable conduct. When introducing the legislation at its first reading, Minister David Clark said that it was “necessary to deal with a very small minority of businesses that take advantage of the vulnerabilities and lack of bargaining power of consumers or other businesses”. This update explains the new law, considers some Australian cases where the equivalent law has been applied and suggests some steps businesses can take to avoid breaching the new law.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on August 17th, 2022.
Changes to the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) are now in force which mean that all standard form business to business contracts with an annual threshold value under $250,000 (including GST) will be subject to the same unfair contract terms rules that already apply to business to consumer contracts. This article provides a brief summary of the application of the unfair contract terms rules to B2B contracts. For more detail please see our top 10 things to think about article here.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on August 17th, 2022.
Franchisors should be aware that changes to the Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA ) are now in force which mean that all standard form business to business contracts with an annual threshold value under $250,000 (including GST) will be subject to the same unfair contract terms rules that already apply to business to consumer contracts. Set out below is a brief summary of the application of the unfair contract terms rules to franchise documentation. For more detail, please see our top 10 things to think about article here.
Written by David Alizade, PARTNER; Jennifer Paterson, SENIOR ASSOCIATE on August 17th, 2022.
On 5 April 2022, the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (New Act) was passed into law. Upon its commencement, the New Act will replace the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 (1908 Act) and have a significant effect on existing incorporated societies. In this update, we summarise the most important changes for existing incorporated societies and what needs to be done between now and the end of the “transition period” for the New Act, which ends on 1 December 2025.
Written by Glenn Finnigan PARTNER on August 17th, 2022.
There has been a long-standing approach based on cases that if an employee resigns in the “heat of the moment”, or as part of an emotional outburst of frustration, then relying on such resignations can be unsafe. Recent cases have shown a change in approach, as employers may not be obligated to provide an employee with the opportunity to retract their resignation.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on July 28th, 2022.
Last month courts in both New Zealand and Australia imposed significant penalties on companies and individuals for breaching cartel laws. In imposing the sentences both courts referred to the need to deter possible offenders from engaging in cartel conduct. The large penalties – including jail in the Australia case - are a timely reminder for NZ businesses. This update discusses the cases and a brief recap on New Zealand cartel laws and their penalties.
Written by Glenn Finnigan PARTNER on June 1st, 2022.
A recent Employment Court decision declared former residents of the Gloriavale Community to be employees and not volunteers. The work they performed contained some useful insights into the approach the Courts take when determining the status of workers, and the traps for organisations receiving the benefit of work from people they consider to be volunteers.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER on May 24th, 2022.
The Fair Trading Act’s “unfair contract terms” regime is being extended to many B2B contracts from 16 August 2022. It is important that franchisors are aware of the new rules and that they update their franchise documentation and template B2B contracts before 16 August. This article discusses ten key points for franchisors.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on April 12th, 2022.
In case you missed our communications on this to date, the Government has decided that unfair contract terms are – well – unfair and should be banned from many standard contracts. The Fair Trading Act’s “unfair contract terms” regime is being extended to many B2B contracts from 16 August 2022. It is important that you and your team are aware of the new rules and that you update your contracts before 16 August. Here are ten key points you need to be aware of:
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on April 12th, 2022.
New Zealand has a small economy that often has markets dominated by a small number of large competitors. Those businesses will need to consider not only the purpose of their conduct but also the potential effects on the relevant market(s).
Written by David Alizade, PARTNER; Darryl King, PARTNER on April 11th, 2022.
Recently, questions about the use of “keyword” advertising by New Zealand businesses have been brought before the High Court. In this article, we discuss the cases, and the lessons to be learned from them.
Written by Darryl King, PARTNER; David Alizade, PARTNER on April 11th, 2022.
As part of the Government’s action plan against forced labour, people trafficking, and slavery that was launched last year, the Government is seeking feedback on new legislation that aims to address modern slavery and worker exploitation in New Zealand and elsewhere. The new laws will require all businesses to take steps, with larger organisations having more responsibilities.
As all businesses will be affected, we encourage all of our clients to consider the impact of the proposals, and to consider making a submission.
Addressing modern slavery and worker exploitation in New Zealand is both the right thing to do, and overdue. If you are not already taking steps to address modern slavery and worker exploitation in your business and supply chain, then perhaps when you have surfaced from the challenges of confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, you may wish to start addressing these issues within your business and supply chain.
Written by David Alizade, PARTNER; Darryl King, PARTNER on March 9th, 2022.
New country of origin food labelling regulations are now in force (for fresh and thawed food) and come into effect for frozen food in May 2023. If you are a manufacturer, supplier or retailer of the prescribed fresh, frozen or thawed food, you need to comply with the new Consumer Information Standards (Origin of Food) Regulations 2021 (Regulations).
The purpose of the Regulations is to ensure that consumers can clearly understand where the different types of regulated foods originate from. In this update, we summarise the background to the Regulations, what foods are captured by the Regulations and what information needs to be disclosed.
Written by Glenn Finnigan PARTNER on February 8th, 2022.
This week the Government announced details of a proposed new compulsory Income Insurance Scheme, one of its election promises in 2020.
1
