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Our lawyers keep up with the latest trends and issues in New Zealand law and business, and regularly publish articles and reports on current topics. |
The Privacy Act 2020 (Act) comes into force on 1 December 2020. This warrant of fitness is designed to help you assess how well placed you are to comply with the Act, and what changes you might need to make.
Ahead of the introduction of the Privacy Act 2020 (Act) on 1 December, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has this week launched its “NotifyUs” tool. The tool is designed to assist organisations with one of the key changes under the Act – the requirement to notify the OPC of certain data breaches. This fact sheet gives an overview of the new breach reporting requirements and how you can prepare for them.
Workplace relations policy often becomes a political football around election time with parties towards the “left” of the political spectrum ordinarily promoting enhanced workers rights vs. the more “right” leaning parties being more concerned with business interests. With advance voting now having opened, we examine some of the parties’ plans for reforming the employment laws.
The management of drugs and alcohol in workplaces is not only an important health and safety issue for industry sectors such as construction and forestry, but is important for all workplaces.
The aftermath to the first COVID-19 lockdown in April has seen a number of redundancy cases being taken to the Employment Relations Authority. The decisions on these cases are beginning to be released and the overarching theme to date is that the existence of a pandemic such as COVID-19 will not excuse an employer from adhering to their core obligations when dealing with potential redundancies.
After a long journey through Parliament, the Privacy Act 2020 (the Act) was passed into law on 30 June, and will come into force on 1 December 2020. The Act retains the key privacy principles found in the Privacy Act 1993. It builds on these with additional changes to reflect the major technological developments that have occurred over the last 27 years. Click through to read more about the key changes the Act will introduce and suggest changes your business may need to make to comply with it.
After much lobbying from business groups, the government has recently announced promised changes to leasing laws to provide some relief for small tenants that do not have a rent relief clause in their lease. The changes as announced will benefit far fewer tenants than originally proposed, and many tenants will be left with little relief. Click the link to read a summary of the changes.
Courier drivers have long been categorised by the Courts as contractors and not employees, largely due to industry practice. The Employment Court recently reconsidered how owner drivers in the courier sector were to be classified in the case of Leota v Parcel Express Limited. Mr Leota was a driver who provided courier services to Parcel Express Limited under an agreement which identified the arrangement as a contract for services. Although the Court said the decision related to the specific facts of Mr Leota’s relationship with Parcel Express Limited, the decision to declare him an employee may set precedent for other owner drivers, especially those operating under a similar model and contract to that used by Parcel Express.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) has dominated world headlines in 2020 and is likely to do so for some time to come. New Zealand is not immune from the effects of the virus and just this week the Government announced a $12.1 billion stimulus package to assist employers and the wider economy in coping with the impact of the virus. COVID-19 brings with it a range of employment law issues that employers should turn their mind to as soon as possible.
An update on Jackson Russell's COVID-19 response.
