Articles Related to Covid-19 Legal

Solvency – A Plague On Directors’ Minds Solvency issues are top of mind for many Kiwi businesses in the face of the prolonged disruption caused by COVID-19, together with rising interest rates, inflation and supply chain issues. Link

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates continue to fall away Fonterra has discarded its strict vaccine policy and is instead allowing unvaccinated staff to take daily rapid antigen tests. Link

Vaccine mandate order overturned for Police and Defence Force As it turns out, vaccine mandates may not be enforced as easily as originally anticipated. A recent COVID-19 High Court case has determined the vaccine mandate for police and defence force staff to be ‘unlawful’. The order requiring New Zealand police and defence force to be vaccinated has now been quashed. Link

Covid-19 dominant in employment law work - Capital Letter article The Covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate work in Wellington-based Ford Sumner Lawyers’ employment law practice, with founding partner Jaesen Sumner expecting this will last well into 2022. Link

Buying a Business in Covid-19? Due diligence issues to consider Like many other big decisions, before buying a business you need to ask the right questions. This is known as due diligence (“DD”) and should involve assessment of the financial, operational and legal affairs of your target business. Done well, DD will help you to more fully understand your target’s business, identify and assess financial, legal and operational risks and opportunities, and inform whether and at what price, you want to proceed with the acquisition. Link

Covid-19 Commercial Rent Relief Update

Earlier this month, we wrote about the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill (“Bill”). If passed, the Bill will have the effect of inserting an implied clause into many commercial leases providing for a rent reduction where, because of an epidemic, the tenant cannot gain access to the premises to fully conduct its business.

The Bill has since been through a public consultation process and the Finance and Expenditure Committee (“Committee”) has now published a report which summarises the various submissions on the Bill that the Committee received.

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COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace: Obligations for employers (Part 3) Hot on the heels of our previous articles, the third instalment of our ‘Vaccinations in the Workplace’ series looks at new Worksafe guidelines for deciding whether certain work should be performed by a vaccinated worker. Link

Dismissal for failing to vaccinate against Covid-19 - Employment Relations Authority has first word On 1 September 2021 the Employment Relations Authority (“Authority”) issued a decision in GF v New Zealand Customs Service [2021] NZERA 382 where it grappled with the vexed issue of an employee (“GF”) being dismissed from their employment for failing to vaccinate against Covid-19. Link

COVID-19 Vaccinations in the Workplace: Obligations for Employers (Part 2) Following on from our last article, in this article we are covering off more questions regarding the debate around COVID-19 vaccinations in the employment context, and what employers should be vigilant of. Link

COVID-19 Vaccinations in the Workplace: Obligations for Employers (Part 1)

New Zealand’s vaccination rollout has gathered pace with approximately 782,000 Kiwi’s now fully vaccinated. As vaccination rates increase with the availability of the Pfizer vaccine (Vaccine) and the anticipated easing of some border restrictions, a number of questions from employers and employees will arise about their obligations and rights when it comes to workplace vaccination requirements.

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Further COVID-19 relief available for SMEs Relief is now available for small and medium sized enterprises (“SMEs”) whose revenue has been affected by the recent COVID-19 Alert Level hikes (from Alert Level 1 to Level 2 for most of the country) during February 2021, with applications for grants and subsidies having recently opened on the Inland Revenue and Work and Income websites. Link

COVID-19 – New Relief For Small Businesses – Government Small Business Cashflow Scheme

On 1 May 2020, the Government announced a new initiative to help small businesses grapple with the devastation inflicted by COVID-19 and the Government’s response to it: the Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS).

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Covid-19 – Changes to Company & Insolvency Law to help Preserve Businesses Today the Government announced urgent legislative changes to the Companies Act 1993 (“the Act”) to help companies face the unique challenges presented by COVID-19. Link

Commercial Leases - Covid-19 and no access to premises The spread of COVID-19 in New Zealand and the Government’s response of introducing a nationwide lockdown has meant that all non-essential businesses have closed for the initial 4 week period, preventing many businesses’ access to their premises. The unprecedented circumstances have left tenants and landlords scrambling to assess their obligations under leases, especially in relation to rent and outgoings payments. Link

Covid-19: Know your obligations as an employer While the number cases of Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) in New Zealand remains relatively low, it is now inevitable that the outbreak will have a significant impact on many aspects of daily life. Link