Employment
News & Events
2008 Archive
Wednesday 23 January 2008
The Revenge of the Employer
When the sun finally sets on this generation, the Star Wars saga will be remembered as one of the great stories of our time. It is an archetypal story of a struggle between good and evil where (true to fairytale form) good eventually triumphs over bad.
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Tuesday 5 February 2008
Casual dope smokers put their jobs on the line
Although its origins are unclear, sometime as far back as the Neolithic age (about 6000 years ago) someone figured out that smoking the elements of the cannabis plant resulted in a particularly pleasant outcome.
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Tuesday 12 February 2008
Bell Gully tops PLC Which Lawyer? 2008 rankings for New Zealand
Bell Gully has achieved top-tier rankings in six practice areas in PLC Which Lawyer? 2008, more than any other New Zealand law firm.
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Tuesday 19 February 2008
Setting sensible internet policies
A rapidly evolving web environment requires employers to develop smarter internet usage policies.
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Wednesday 20 February 2008
Making employees pay for their sins
One of the hallmarks of 1980s English tabloid reporting was the "Gotcha" revelation.
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Wednesday 5 March 2008
"Gay" banter not discriminatory
It is often interesting to reflect upon the way in which the law develops in accordance with changing societal norms.
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Wednesday 19 March 2008
Dear employee, please control your boyfriend
It is one of those eternal mysteries of life: exactly how do people choose their partners?
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Thursday 27 March 2008
Lessons learned in employment law
Bell Gully partner Rob Towner has looked at lessons learned from some of the most significant employment cases of the last year at the 2008 New Zealand Industrial Relations Conference.
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Monday 31 March 2008
Risks and rewards of a changing online environment
Bell Gully partner Andrew Scott-Howman has looked at some of the ways internet use in the workplace has changed over the last year and the new challenges and opportunities this presents for employers and organisations.
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Wednesday 2 April 2008
Security guards' boss left with a fight on his hands
There is a curious concept in employment law called vicarious liability.
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Wednesday 16 April 2008
Sexing up women employees – fair or foul
If you want to see a really good example of sexual stereotyping, have a look at the movie Miss Congeniality.
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Thursday 17 April 2008
Flexible working arrangements among 2008 employment changes
The employment law landscape for business has been outlined among a range of topics at the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants 2008 Business Update.
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Wednesday 30 April 2008
Consumer technology in the workplace
Traditionally, the term "tools of trade" was used to describe the hammers and screwdrivers that a tradesperson would need in a particular role.
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Wednesday 14 May 2008
When tough management crosses the line
We hear it all the time - especially in relation to sport:
"Youngsters these days don't have enough respect for authority. The problem with [insert the name of your favourite sporting team] is that the coach doesn't rule with an iron fist."
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Wednesday 28 May 2008
Threats of intimidation at work
The Godfather will surely be remembered as Francis Ford Coppola's finest work.
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Thursday 12 June 2008
Anti-smoking law changes behaviour
It is now almost universally accepted that smoking is a social ill in New Zealand.
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Friday 27 June 2008
Balancing the scales of justice
Fans of Rumpole will be familiar with the statue that adorns the top of the Old Bailey: the blindfolded woman holding aloft the balanced scales of justice.
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Thursday 10 July 2008
The whistle blower and religious devotion
Employment law often provides us with cases that lend themselves to good yarns.
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Tuesday 22 July 2008
Drug testing in the workplace - essential or excessive?
Picture this. It's Sunday morning. You are just sitting down to read the paper when there's a knock on your door. You open it to find your boss demanding a urine sample there and then to determine what substances you may have indulged in the previous night. Would you be happy to oblige?
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Thursday 24 July 2008
Military battle fought out in British court
In the ordinary course of life, it would seem trite to emphasise that the law applies to us all - irrespective of our personal status and circumstances.
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Thursday 7 August 2008
Firing someone for not speaking proper
There's a school of thought these days that language is all about communication: as long as you get your message across to your recipient, rules of grammar (and in some cases, spelling) are unimportant.
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Thursday 21 August 2008
When is a deal a deal?
Many agreements in the school yard are settled (after extensive oral negotiation) with a handshake - often involving some sort of "secret" element, known only to the members of a solemn sub-tribe of pupils.
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