Management Insights

Is it all about the money or are there other options for retaining good staff? In this current season of very low unemployment in NZ, the job market has become…

Employees Not Taking Annual Leave

If we were to talk about small business owners rarely taking annual leave, you are sure to roll your eyes as you try to remember when you last had any…

Making Deductions from an Employee’s Pay

Is it ever OK to withhold or make deductions from an employee’s pay? In a recent case before the ERA, and as reported in Stuff, the ERA awarded an employee…

Writing Useful Job Descriptions

NZ employment law requires that all employees must have a description to accompany their employment agreement. Many employers don’t realise this. Others write aspirational job descriptions as they embark on…

The Great Resignation Part 2 – Offboarding Employees

We recently wrote about the implications to businesses of ‘The Great Resignation’. Most businesses focus on recruiting, onboarding and retaining great employees. However, having a strategy for offboarding or exiting…

Recruitment in 2022

Recruitment in 2022 Recruitment has changed! If you are currently recruiting, you have probably already found that the market is challenging. The pandemic has driven changes in technologies, new…

Restraints of Trade – Agreements are Made to be Kept

Restraints of Trade 101 A restraint of trade clause in an employment agreement is designed to protect a business’ commercially sensitive information by restricting an employee‘s business activities after they…

Absence in the Workplace Due to Omicron

Preparing for Large-Scale Absence in the Workplace We have been warned that with COVID in the community, it is only a matter of time before New Zealand experiences mass absence…

How to Prioritise Employee Health and Wellbeing

Managing Employee Health and Wellbeing Not only can a surge of COVID (or any illness or situation that creates large scale absence) have the potential to increase workload significantly, it…

Bullying in the Workplace

The miserable topic of workplace bullying – it’s prevalence, how to identify it, how to avoid it, and what to do if it is occurring. See the YouTube video where…

Managing Unvaccinated Employees – Proceed with Caution

Managing Unvaccinated Employees Managing unvaccinated employees is an evolving and challenging issue. As at time of writing, we are yet to see the Employment Court rule on any claims against…

Key Considerations for Recruitment in the Age of Covid

Recruitment in the Age of Covid Recruitment in the age of COVID – business as usual or not? Despite the uncertainties in some sectors of the economy during 2020/ 2021,…

The Great Resignation – Is Your Business Prepared?

The Great Resignation We are warned that in 2022, New Zealand will experience ‘The Great Resignation’. While we all know the frustration of hoping someone will resign who won’t, that’s…

Christmas and New Year Public Holidays 2021/2022

Featured, Uncategorized

Christmas and New Year Holidays – What to Pay Employees This year, all the Christmas and New Year public holidays fall on a weekend. Because of this they are ‘Mondayised’,…

Closedowns and Annual Leave at Christmas

Closedowns and annual leave at Christmas? Auckland is preparing to come out of lockdown and we are starting to hear Christmas carols in the supermarket. Now is the time to…

Front-Footing Metaverse and Social Media Menace

Social Media Use – the Good and Bad Employee use of social media is pretty much a given. While Facebook has begun to feel a bit passé, particularly now we…

No Jab, No Job

No Jab, No Job “No jab, no job” is the new catchphrase. Considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated is a topical and difficult subject. Max Whitehead is known…

Employee Mental Health – Timing is Everything

Employees and Mental Health ‘Employee Mental Health’ has turned into a perfect noun over the last year. We thought it was a good time to reflect on some of the…

Redundancies in the Age of COVID

Redundancies in a COVID age Redundancies in COVID seem inevitable for many businesses, As we continue to deal with serious COVID restrictions, many small business owners will be near the…

Avoiding the Pain of Unwanted Resignations

Employees ready to resign Unwanted employee resignations can be a real pain point for businesses. Employment Hero recently surveyed 1000 New Zealanders and found over half were considering a job…

Changing Employee Pay

Changing Employee Pay Changing employee pay is rarely a problem when pay rates increase but sometimes employers need to make other changes. Recently Bruce Atchison bravely put his hand up…

The Lowdown : One Work Visa from 01/11/2021

One Work Visa from 01/11/2021 On 1 November 2021, the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) will be introduced, streamlining 6 existing temporary work visas into one work visa. The process…

Employee Leave for Overseas Travel

Employee Leave for Overseas Travel In the current COVID environment, approving employee leave for overseas travel requires some extra considerations. Our travel bubbles have been long awaited and signal an…

Upcoming Changes to Employee Entitlements

Employment Legislation Change There are some big law changes to employee entitlements on the horizon so check out a summary below to ensure you are in the know. A New…

Contractor or Employee?

Employee or Contractor? Is the difference between an employee and a contractor not just splitting hairs? “If my guys choose to be contractors, what does it matter to me? Why…

The Covid-19 Pivot, and the Appeal of the Contractor

Independent Contractor Arangements There will be many businesses seeking to “pivot” and/or restructure to make themselves more sustainable in the current climate in NZ. Well done you for your creative…

Onboard like a Boss

Your onboarding process is a key opportunity for you to win the hearts and minds of your new employees. It might feel like your hard work is all behind you…

Dealing with Fake Sickies

As an employer you’ve probably questioned the genuineness of an employee taking sick leave from time to time. When time is money, this is something that deserves some thought, strategy and…

Deciding about Downsizing

The New Zealand economy has been heavily disrupted over the past nine months resulting in most businesses needing to review their operations, including their workforce needs. Many businesses have been…

Bouncing Back from a Terrible Hire