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Aug 23, 2024 | 
hcamag.com | Maria Green |Helena Scholes
Amendments to bring flexibility for adoptive parents, unexpected childcare responsibilities
Proposed changes to parental leave legislation promise more flexibility for non-biological parents, and more support for those unexpectedly taking on the care of a child.
The Bill proposing the changes passed its first reading in Parliament in late July.
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Aug 20, 2024 | 
nationalworld.com | Maria Green
Watch more of our videos on Shots! and live on Freeview channel 276Visit Shots! nowThe rail industry has created a new audio series, inspiring Brits to take a trip to watch, learn about and discover new sporting passions. Hosted by Kirsty Gallacher, the eight episodes feature exclusive interviews with British sporting greats - from Luke Littler to Derek Redmond - and uncover some of the country’s fantastic sporting locations and how to visit them by train, for less.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Maria Green |Helena Scholes
Proposed changes to parental leave legislation promise more flexibility for non-biological parents, and more support for those unexpectedly taking on the care of a child. The Bill proposing the changes passed its first reading in Parliament in late July. Named the Regulations Systems Amendment Bill (No 3) (Bill), it proposes changes to the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 (Act).
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Jul 17, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Maria Green |Abby Lohrey
Emojis can lead employees into trouble if they’re used inappropriately in the workplace – read on for potential pitfalls and practical guidance from our employment law experts. In today’s digital age, the use of emojis has infiltrated nearly every aspect of communication, including in the workplace. Whether using emojis in the workplace is acceptable is entirely dependent on the context.
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Jun 7, 2024 | 
hcamag.com | Tamsin Woolf |Maria Green
Covert recordings not good faith behaviour, but can be evidence in certain circumstances
Secret workplace recordings can sometimes be used as evidence in employment cases – and sometimes not – depending on the specific context, as highlighted by a recent case.
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May 27, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Helena Scholes |Maria Green
A recent Employment Court decision highlights the importance of getting it right when applying for paid parental leave – essentially you must use it or lose it!The case emphasised that applications to take advantage of paid parental leave need to be made before an employee’s return to work. By not doing so, primary caregivers can bring their paid leave entitlement to a premature end. Parental leave is a tricky area to navigate.
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May 2, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Tamsin Woolf |Maria Green
Secret workplace recordings can sometimes be used as evidence in employment cases – and sometimes not – depending on the specific context, as highlighted by a recent case. To ensure an accurate record of the meeting is kept, we would usually expect that in most important meetings with employees (such as disciplinary meetings) the audio of the meeting is recorded by agreement. Interesting legal issues arise, however, where recordings are made covertly.
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Apr 30, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Helena Scholes |Maria Green |Gwen Drewitt
The devil is in the detail when it comes to employment agreements, as highlighted by a recent court case where ambiguity was costly for the employer. In the 2023 decision Supercity Towing Ltd v Huch,[1] the Employment Court interpreted ambiguity in the employment contract against the party that drafted the agreement – Supercity.
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Apr 11, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Elisabeth Giles |Maria Green
Privacy law may sound drab. But if you look beyond the (sometimes boring) statutory language, you will see that it aims to protect one of the most important rights a person has: their right to privacyThis includes the protection of their ‘personal information’ – for example, information about an identifiable individual such as their name, contact details, correspondence about them, CCTV images and medical information.
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Mar 31, 2024 | 
hcamag.com | Maria Green |Elisabeth Giles
Dismissal of healthcare worker upheld by courts; worker could be on hook for costs
A former Wairarapa District Health Board (DHB - now Te Whatu Ora) employee may have to pay $20,000 in costs to Te Whatu Ora after unsuccessfully challenging her suspension and dismissal in the Employment Court.
While the appeal has yet to be heard by the Court of Appeal (scheduled for 18 March 2025), the Employment Court’s decision - Turner v.
