The summer holiday period often sees a mix of casual and fixed-term employees working on the farm. You must have a written employment agreement in place from the outset for both types of employees. The consequences of getting it wrong can be expensive as you will see from a recent case below (Stewart v Lee-Jones and Douglas [2017] NZERA Wellington 100, 6 October 2017). Read more…

New government-endorsed health and safety toolkit now available

SafePlus, a new government-developed and endorsed health and safety toolkit, is now available to all New Zealand businesses, including those in the rural sector.

SafePlus currently consists of three products:
1. Resources and guidance
2. Independent onsite assessment and advisory service, and
3. Online self-assessment tool (available mid-2018).

The launch of the independent onsite assessment and advisory service includes the SafePlus register of independent accredited assessors so businesses can now directly engage with assessors.

For more information about SafePlus, click here.

Have I made one?

The law around trusts is ever-changing particularly with relationship property and matrimonial issues. The courts continue to chip away at the trust as an appropriate vehicle to protect assets against a relationship breakup. Read more…

Farmers unsuccessful in their claim against rural contractor

In May this year the High Court released its judgment in the case of A P and A W Hughes Limited v Lyall (A P and A W Hughes Limited v Lyall [2017] HC 1109 [26 May 2017]). In 2014 Allan Lyall was contracted by A P and A W Hughes Limited to harvest a pea and barley crop for silage. When the silage was opened for feeding, which was three months after harvest, it was found to be in poor condition. The farmers attempted to sue the contractor for $300,000 worth of damage to the silage crop seeking compensation for the loss of winter feed.  Read more…

Look after your property

Some time ago we published an article about the risk of fire in the rural sector and the consequences of not holding appropriate insurance cover. The number of rural fires throughout the country seems to be increasing each year. Read more…

Many rural employers provide accommodation to staff as part of an employment package.

Recently a controversial decision of the Tenancy Tribunal, where a tenant's dog ruined the carpets of a rental property, has been overturned on appeal to the District Court. This decision will be of interest to many in the rural sector. Read more…