Employment Law

The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 (“the Act”) came into force on 6 December 2018.  However, a number of provisions will not take effect until 6 May 2019.  Among these changes, from 6 May 2019, 90-day trial periods will be restricted to small – medium sized employers (employers with less than 20 employees). But what […]

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2018 (“the Bill”) underwent its third and final reading on 5 December 2018 and received Royal Assent on 11 December 2018.  It is now the ‘Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018’ (“the Act”).    As per our previous updates on the progress of the Bill, the purpose of the Act is to

The Domestic Violence Victims’ Protection Act 2018 (“the Act”), was given Royal Assent on 30 July 2018 and comes into force on 1 April 2019.  The Act makes amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000, Holidays Act 2003 and Human Rights Act 1993. The aim of the Act is to enhance legal protection in the

The final report of the Education and Workforce Committee (“EWC”) on the Employment Relations Amendment Bill (“ERAB”) was released on 7 September 2018. The EWC has suggested changes regarding: union delegates’ entitlement to reasonable paid time to represent employees; employer obligations relating to sharing/providing information about the union’s role and functions to new employees, along with

It has been common practice for employers to include both 90 day trial period and probationary period provisions in employment agreements. The Employment Court has determined that this practice is no longer appropriate. The long and short of the Employment Court’s judgment is that a trial period provision in an employment agreement will be deemed