PBEL Blog

Even though our building is within the central city cordon and has yet to be cleared for use, we are open for business. We are operating from another location. Our phone numbers remain the same. We have retrieved our computers and have access to email. We have also retrieved most client files. Do not hesitate to contact us. Read more>>

1.  If I can not go to work do I get paid? Check your employment agreement to see what it says. If it does not cover these events then note that there is no statutory entitlement to paid special leave to cover disasters such as this and, therefore, you will need to talk to your employer about this. Read more>>

On 26 August 2010 the Chief Judge of the Employment Court in Smith v Stokes Valley Pharmacy (2009) Limited exposed the complexity of the law on 90 trial periods and established that it is a veritable legal minefield for employers. Read more>>

Fixed term employment agreements are essential tools for any business. They are needed to cover the positions of employees on parental leave. They are used to cover seasonal fluctuations in business and special projects. Read more>>

Many employers have a zero tolerance policy towards violence in the workplace and while the Employment Court recognises it is admirable in principle, they have warned that “the devil is as always, in the detail of what is meant by a policy that has been sloganised”. A zero tolerance policy can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Read more>>

In a decision dated 3 June 2009, all four Judges of the Employment Court, pronounced that the Employment Relations Authority and the Court could review the decision of an employer to dismiss instantly an employee found to have committed an act of serious misconduct. Individual Judges had been saying the same things certainly since 2005. Read more>>

Some firms are advertising that they will only charge you if they are successful. The big question is what will they charge you if you win. Some of these firms have a base fee. Read more>>

The following blog is  Part 2 of an article published by PBEL in the Christchurch Star in the 1990’s. Part 1 is presented in our blog "In the Name of the Global Financial Crisis - Redundancy and Loyalty". This blog illustrates the risk employers face from employees who have no sense of loyalty. Read more>>

The following blog is Part 1 of an article published by PBEL in the Christchurch Star in the 1990’s. Is history repeating itself? Already we are seeing some employers making staff redundant in questionable circumstances and adopting selection processes that say loyalty counts for nothing. Read more>>

The government has delivered on its election promise to give employers the right to terminate an employee undergoing a trial period with notice but without the risk of personal grievance action: But is it going to be that simple? The short answer is a definite No. Read more>>