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Hello,
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Having recently passed the shortest day things certainly seem on the up. We hope you’re enjoying those ever-lengthening days.
The past couple of weeks has seen our property lawyer Jim Eddy away on some well-earned leave to celebrate a special occasion with his partner. He’ll be back on deck on 20 July. We hope you and yours also get the chance to get out there and explore the country, recharge your batteries, and help recharge the local economy.
As always, here are a few matters that caught our eye this month.
Should bosses be able to spy on workers working from home?
We’ve all watched or read stories about surveillance culture; tales like George Orwell’s 1984, in which Big Brother can watch your every move.
As technology advances and working situations change, that fiction becomes ever-more a reality.
The latest opportunity for that to grow was during worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns, in which employers looked for ways to keep an eye on employees as they worked from home—including in New Zealand.
US-based Hubstaff reported a 300% increase in sales of time-tracking software in New Zealand during the first month of lockdown. This tracks when users log in and out, but can also record activity of employees throughout the day, even when their managers aren’t in direct contact with them.
(Some of you might be shuddering right now, or thinking back to your recent work-time online activity.)
So, what are the privacy implications of that?
The Privacy Act makes it clear that employees need to be made aware of any information being collected and the reason for its collection. They’re also entitled to know how it will be used and stored, who can access it, and whether it can be modified. Employers should not collect information if it intrudes to an unreasonable extent on the personal affairs of individual employees.
Privacy law issues aside, this kind of action can also have a big impact on staff morale, stress and turnover. So, while an employer might be seeking to protect productivity, in practice it might do the opposite. Less enthusiasm for work, less trust of employers, and possibly even more sick days being taken. And with a recent survey from the Privacy Commissioner showing nearly two-thirds of New Zealand are in favour of more privacy regulation, it’s an issue most people take seriously.
It’s up to each employer to decide the balance for their business. But you definitely want to make sure you’re on the right side of your legal obligations: that’s where we’re happy to lend you some advice.
[We acknowledge the input of Val Hooper Associate Professor and Head of Marketing at Victoria University of Wellington; Gordon Anderson Professor of Law at Victoria and Stephen Blumenfeld Director at the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work at Victoria]
A new evolution in New Zealand law from the Peter Ellis case
"Wellington Supreme Court building" by Buffy May is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In New Zealand, criminal appeals typically end if the person seeking the appeal dies. The outcome wouldn’t impact them, as far as the law is concerned.
So when Peter Ellis died in September last year, it seemed unlikely that the appeal the Supreme Court had granted him would proceed. Now it seems it could.
In a hearing last November, Supreme Court Justices Susan Glazebrook and Joe Williams suggested that tikanga, Māori customary practices and behaviours, could play a part in determining whether or not an appeal could go ahead.
When the issue came back before the Court last month, both sides suggested tikanga meant their side should prevail. Counsel for Ellis said that Ellis’ mana had been damaged, and continued after death. The Crown said that tikanga called for balance, and that by proceeding further, that balance would be upset.
The Court has reserved its decision. How they eventually rule will be of great interest, and not just in cases of posthumous appeals. Tikanga has not been a part of common law cases involving Pākehā disputes, and its application could see the start of a more distinctly New Zealand system of law. It might see the judiciary consider other kinds of disputes in a new light.
We’ll keep you updated on the result.
BusinessNZ Planning Forecast
Having completed the June quarter, BusinessNZ observes that our economy is “ploughing through unchartered waters in the wake of the COVID crisis, with the worst impacts yet to come.”
As expected, there were large output reductions impacting key sectors resulting in negative business sentiment. The bright spot is that our economy is in relatively good shape in comparison with other countries and we have the ability to take on more debt if required. According to BusinessNZ our net debt forecast is to increase from 20% of GDP at the beginning of the year to around 50% by 2022 – one of the lowest in the developed world.
The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index—which tracks 33 economic indicators including GDP, export volumes, commodity prices, inflation, debt, and business and consumer confidence—sits at -6 for the June 2020 quarter. That’s up three on the previous quarter, but down nine on a year ago, because of initial declines in key economic indicators as the impact of COVID-19 emerges.
That’s it for our July edition. We look forward to another busy and productive month, and next time we chat, we’ll be well on the way to spring.
As always, we’re just an email or phone call away for any questions, help or advice.
The past couple of weeks has seen our property lawyer Jim Eddy away on some well-earned leave to celebrate a special occasion with his partner. He’ll be back on deck on 20 July. We hope you and yours also get the chance to get out there and explore the country, recharge your batteries, and help recharge the local economy.
As always, here are a few matters that caught our eye this month.
Should bosses be able to spy on workers working from home?
We’ve all watched or read stories about surveillance culture; tales like George Orwell’s 1984, in which Big Brother can watch your every move.
As technology advances and working situations change, that fiction becomes ever-more a reality.
The latest opportunity for that to grow was during worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns, in which employers looked for ways to keep an eye on employees as they worked from home—including in New Zealand.
US-based Hubstaff reported a 300% increase in sales of time-tracking software in New Zealand during the first month of lockdown. This tracks when users log in and out, but can also record activity of employees throughout the day, even when their managers aren’t in direct contact with them.
(Some of you might be shuddering right now, or thinking back to your recent work-time online activity.)
So, what are the privacy implications of that?
The Privacy Act makes it clear that employees need to be made aware of any information being collected and the reason for its collection. They’re also entitled to know how it will be used and stored, who can access it, and whether it can be modified. Employers should not collect information if it intrudes to an unreasonable extent on the personal affairs of individual employees.
Privacy law issues aside, this kind of action can also have a big impact on staff morale, stress and turnover. So, while an employer might be seeking to protect productivity, in practice it might do the opposite. Less enthusiasm for work, less trust of employers, and possibly even more sick days being taken. And with a recent survey from the Privacy Commissioner showing nearly two-thirds of New Zealand are in favour of more privacy regulation, it’s an issue most people take seriously.
It’s up to each employer to decide the balance for their business. But you definitely want to make sure you’re on the right side of your legal obligations: that’s where we’re happy to lend you some advice.
[We acknowledge the input of Val Hooper Associate Professor and Head of Marketing at Victoria University of Wellington; Gordon Anderson Professor of Law at Victoria and Stephen Blumenfeld Director at the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work at Victoria]
A new evolution in New Zealand law from the Peter Ellis case
"Wellington Supreme Court building" by Buffy May is licensed under CC BY 2.0
In New Zealand, criminal appeals typically end if the person seeking the appeal dies. The outcome wouldn’t impact them, as far as the law is concerned.
So when Peter Ellis died in September last year, it seemed unlikely that the appeal the Supreme Court had granted him would proceed. Now it seems it could.
In a hearing last November, Supreme Court Justices Susan Glazebrook and Joe Williams suggested that tikanga, Māori customary practices and behaviours, could play a part in determining whether or not an appeal could go ahead.
When the issue came back before the Court last month, both sides suggested tikanga meant their side should prevail. Counsel for Ellis said that Ellis’ mana had been damaged, and continued after death. The Crown said that tikanga called for balance, and that by proceeding further, that balance would be upset.
The Court has reserved its decision. How they eventually rule will be of great interest, and not just in cases of posthumous appeals. Tikanga has not been a part of common law cases involving Pākehā disputes, and its application could see the start of a more distinctly New Zealand system of law. It might see the judiciary consider other kinds of disputes in a new light.
We’ll keep you updated on the result.
BusinessNZ Planning Forecast
Having completed the June quarter, BusinessNZ observes that our economy is “ploughing through unchartered waters in the wake of the COVID crisis, with the worst impacts yet to come.”
As expected, there were large output reductions impacting key sectors resulting in negative business sentiment. The bright spot is that our economy is in relatively good shape in comparison with other countries and we have the ability to take on more debt if required. According to BusinessNZ our net debt forecast is to increase from 20% of GDP at the beginning of the year to around 50% by 2022 – one of the lowest in the developed world.
The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index—which tracks 33 economic indicators including GDP, export volumes, commodity prices, inflation, debt, and business and consumer confidence—sits at -6 for the June 2020 quarter. That’s up three on the previous quarter, but down nine on a year ago, because of initial declines in key economic indicators as the impact of COVID-19 emerges.
That’s it for our July edition. We look forward to another busy and productive month, and next time we chat, we’ll be well on the way to spring.
As always, we’re just an email or phone call away for any questions, help or advice.
Regards,
Clive, Grant and the Team at Canterbury Legal
