Like many countries around the world, New Zealand is in the grip of football fever.

Many readers will have seen the English goal disallowed by Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda replayed many times on television. Fortunately, most goals hit the back of the net and make the referee's job relatively easy.

The football World Cup has arrived in New Zealand along with the worst elements of winter. So, genuine sickness, "sickies" and "acts of God" have also hit us. Snow closing the Rimutaka hill road is the most obvious "act of God" for people in the Wellington area during winter, preventing Wairarapa workers from getting to work.  More...

Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. But there is a perception that for shrewd businesses and the wealthy, death is the only certainty. Our tax legislation has provisions to prevent tax avoidance, but the courts have always allowed people to arrange their affairs in ways that minimise their tax.

Much publicity was given to the case of two well known orthopaedic surgeons who rearranged their practices so that they lowered their tax liability. Ian Penny is a surgeon to famous sportspeople. Gary Hooper is the head of orthopaedics and musculoskeletal medicine at Otago University's Christchurch campus. Both set up largely family trust-owned companies that purchased their practices.  More...

Wellington has its share of leaking homes, but it also has more than its share of other leaks. When a government's popularity is on the wane or its policies are disliked, the odd civil servant is inclined to leak information to opposition politicians or the media. This can be dangerous and may result in the dismissal of the leaker. It may also result in the dismissal of those people who know about it but do nothing.  More...

Workers tend to think that if they walk like a duck and talk like a duck, they must be a duck. That is, they think they must be an employee of the organisation that they appear to do work for. Usually this is the case, but not always.

Labour hire companies employ workers who can sometimes be assigned to work for years at a particular organisation, and are under the control of that organisation for the duration of the assignment.  Sometimes the workers are then "dismissed"from their work at the organisation when the labour hire company is told to move them on by the client. The jargon for this is "triangular employment". More...

Workplace bullying in New Zealand is rife according to new research - with this country ranking amongst the worst in the world

Listen to clip (including comment from David Burton, Partner at Cullen) (duration: 2'30?)

A blog about "behind the scenes" insights into police work recently got a British police officer into trouble, so be careful what you write in cyberspace. More...

People can be treated wrongly whatever their earnings or seniority and all should have access to justice, Peter Cullen says. New proposals on taking a personal grievance case would exclude the better off.

Many readers will remember the case Martyn Turner took against his employer Ogilvy & Mather (NZ) Ltd. The case started in the early 1990s and made its way to our Court of Appeal. Popular Employment Court Judge Derek Castle first heard the case. More...

The outcome of Phillip Dickson's case against Idea Services, a part of IHC New Zealand, has sent seismic waves through organisations providing services and care to the disabled.

The court decisions will have a far wider reach than the disabled care community. It is becoming apparent, in light of several other recent claims, that the Dickson case will change the legal obligations for many industries employing "sleepover" staff. More...

Readers will be aware of the legislation introduced by the National Party in 2009 regarding trial employment periods more...