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Articles Related to Corporate
Shaking Grounds and Safety Obligations: Navigating Earthquake-Prone Buildings with Legal Insight
When considering next steps for addressing earthquake-prone buildings, building owners must be aware of the obligations they have under not only the Building Act 2004 (“the Building Act”), but also as Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBUs) under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (“the Health and Safety at Work Act”), particularly when the building is occupied.
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Bulletproof your Business: Tips for Protecting Growth and Success
As you develop your business, it's important to protect yourself and your business for successful growth. Tips we discuss in this article include choosing the right business structure, safeguarding business and personal assets, and documenting business plans early. These steps will help lay the right business foundation, safeguard your interests and prepare you for the unexpected.
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The Importance of Understanding your Privacy Obligations as a Business Owner and Employer
If you’re a business owner, of any size, it is more than likely you hold private information on file. This private information may be in relation to client and customer details or held on staff files. This article serves as a friendly reminder for all business owners to ensure they are complying with the Privacy Act 2020 (“the Privacy Act”) and minimising any risk of a privacy breach.
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Redundancy – Don’t Jump the Gun!
The Employment Relations Authority’s recent decision in Buckingham v St John (“Buckingham”) serves as reminder for employers to ensure their redundancy policies and procedures are sound.
What started with some “minor procedural inadequacies” on behalf of employer St John led to an unfortunate misunderstanding with employee, Ms Buckingham, regarding the redundancy package set out in her employment agreement.
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Guidance for Employers and Employees During the Resignation Process
After watching Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern step down from her role as Prime Minister in January, we considered it an appropriate time to provide some guidance to both employees and employers about the resignation process in New Zealand.
Resignation is a process where an employee voluntarily terminates their employment agreement with their employer. While resignations are a common and relatively straightforward process across New Zealand workplaces, there are some important considerations that both employees and employers should take into account.
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Fair Pay Agreements Bill to Take Effect Very Soon
The widely disputed Fair Pay Agreements Bill (“FPA Bill”) has been passed and will take effect on 1 December 2022. When it takes effect, the Act will provide a framework for collective bargaining for fair pay agreements (“FPA’s”) across all New Zealand industries or occupations, rather than just between unions and particular employers.
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Recent US Court case Zuru v Glassdoor serves as wake up call for New Zealand Employers
The California-based website Glassdoor Incorporated (“Glassdoor”) recently lost a case brought against it by New Zealand-based company ZURU Toys New Zealand Limited (“Zuru”). Personal information surrounding anonymous reviews must now be released from Glassdoor to Zuru to allow them to pursue a defamation claim against suspected present and past employees who expressed their resentment of the company online.
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New Protected Disclosures Act a reminder for employers to ensure they have solid whistleblowing policies in place
The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act (“the Act”) comes into effect from 1 July 2022, replacing the Protected Disclosures Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”).
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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.
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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.
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