Entering a Commercial Lease
If you are looking to enter into a Commercial Lease, getting it right from the start can help avoid problems further down the track. While we recommend you discuss your lease requirements with your lawyer, here are a few common points to think about.
U r fired (Fire emoji) - How not to dismiss employees
Has your employer fired you over text message? Has your employer made claims about your behaviour, but can’t remember times or dates when said behavior occurred? Has your employer failed to discuss matters with you at all before deciding to fire you? You probably don’t need a lawyer to tell you that this sort of conduct by employers is not only unprofessional, but illegal. If you find yourself in a situation like this you may also be entitled to claim thousands of dollars in compensation.
Insurance - Intentional Damage update
Late last year I wrote an article about the Court of Appeal decision in Holler v Osaki (Osaki). The ongoing application of this decision by the Tenancy Tribunal (Tribunal) had become rather controversial as the decision had not clarified what “intentional damage” meant.
Mitigation & Contribution (Part 2)
My last article addressed a recent decision of the Employment Court which examined both mitigation of loss and contribution. As I said the implications of the decision, in terms of contribution, would be discussed in a later article; this article.
The Employment Relations Act requires the Authority or the Court (whichever is hearing the claim) to consider contribution. What this means is that after finding a claimant has a valid personal grievance the Authority or Court must then (and the word “must” is used, meaning this is mandatory) go on to look at whether, although the dismissal or action was unjustified, the employee contributed to the situation. If so, what does this mean in terms of remedies?
Witness Intimidation
It sounds like the plot of a bad movie. Retail assistants rat on cheapskate boss. Boss hires local gang members to pay them a visit and “suggest” they should withdraw their case. Coming soon to a cinema near you!
Except this actually happened. In real life. In 21st Century New Zealand.
