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Employment law can be a bit of a "political football", and with each new government one may expect changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 ("Act"). Honouring that tradition, the new Labour and NZ First Government passed the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 on 5 December 2018. The Amendment Act strengthens union and employee rights at the expense of employer rights, including abolishing use of the 90-day trial period by employers with 20 or more employees.

One of the notable law reforms which was touted in Labour's election campaign has been unveiled in the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2018 ("Bill") - the restriction on the use of the 90 day trial period.

Passed on 1 March 2017, the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 ("CCLA") represents a step taken by our Parliament to consolidate and modernise New Zealand's law relating to contracts and sales. The CCLA will come into force on 1 September 2017.

At one time or another, all businesses confront the unpleasant task of collecting outstanding fees for the services or products they have provided. When a client refuses to pay an outstanding invoice, recovering the money due may turn into a drawn-out process, even when the amount owed appears un-contentious. Engaging a solicitor to assist with the debt recovery process has the benefit of both impressing on the debtor your commitment to pursuing the debt and simplifying an otherwise frustrating process.

The Construction Contracts Amendment Act 2015 is implementing a number of updates to the Construction Contracts Act 2002 ("the CCA"). The amendments are coming into force progressively between 1 December 2015 and 31 March 2017.