A Full Court will hear a preliminary issue in Top Produce and Bhatia on whether section 12A of the Wages Protection Act can apply to employment premiums paid outside New Zealand.
Industry news, practical commentary, and real-world employment law lessons from the coalface in New Zealand. Short updates, longer opinion pieces, and anonymised stories that highlight what goes wrong (and how to avoid it).
Updates, commentary, and practical lessons from the coalface. This is where I article industry news, my opinion on employment law issues, and real-world stories (some anonymised, some not) that show how disputes start, how they escalate, and how they can be resolved.
Some articles in this section are short and timely. Others are longer opinion pieces or breakdowns of common failure points I see in practice. If you are looking for structured guides and explainer articles, browse the main articles and topics as well.
Employment disputes are rarely about one single event. They usually build from poor process, poor communication, missing documentation, or decisions that get locked in too early. I use this section to call out patterns I see repeatedly, and to explain the practical reality of what happens in MBIE mediation, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), and sometimes the Employment Court.
If you are in a live dispute, treat deadlines and evidence seriously from day one. For employees, that may include the time limits for raising a Personal Grievance (PG). For employers, that means avoiding rushed responses and preserving the record before memories fade or systems overwrite.
A Full Court will hear a preliminary issue in Top Produce and Bhatia on whether section 12A of the Wages Protection Act can apply to employment premiums paid outside New Zealand.
Blunt and "abusive" language attributed to Lawrence Anderson in employment litigation: what was said, why it was said, what the Courts found, and how outrage over the language can become a convenient distraction from the law, evidence and procedure that actually mattered.
![Menzies v Corrigan [2026] NZEmpC 151 - a procedural loss that still avoids the real issues](/Blog/articles/Employment_Law_News_Opinion/menzies-v-corrigan-2026-court-151/4eddf0_9083d25fdcfa42f192e1d1c26ebdb0a8~mv2.jpg)
The late challenge failed, but the real issues remain unresolved: disputed liquidation and accounting material, documents routed through the opposing barrister's office, attempted imprisonment sanctions by the wrong procedure, limited liability, disclosure, and practical recovery. Far more energy has been spent criticising my language than examining what actually went wrong.
Public commentary about Lawrence Anderson, Joyce v Ultimate Siteworks, and Menzies v Corrigan has left out important context. This article sets out what is accepted, what is disputed, and why the Joyce, Menzies, NZBA, liquidator disclosure, and accounting issues matter.
Menzies v Corrigan shows how one liquidator report comment about "excessive drawings", later financial disclosure routed through Catherine Stewart Barrister's office, and disputed accounting material became central to orders against a company director personally.
The underlying email referred to EMA and the New Zealand Business Association in the context of possible intervention. LawNews and RNZ have incorrectly reported NZBA as the New Zealand Bar Association. There were no rude words sent to either organisation by us. I say the reporting is inaccurate, unfair, and missing important context.
EMA says employment advocates are delaying and distorting employment disputes, making employment harder, and contributing to personal grievance imbalance. But the wider anti-advocate argument is inconsistent, and the NZLS-commissioned independent review did not identify widespread consumer harm justifying lawyer-style regulation of non-lawyer providers. The better answer is realistic offers, proper Calderbanks, proper disclosure, lawful treatment of advocate costs, better mediation resourcing, and existing conduct and costs powers used fairly across all representatives.
MBIE is asking for feedback on the employment dispute system. The Employment Court stage shows the real problem is not simply employment advocates. It is employment lawyer representatives who do not understand procedure, file weak interlocutory applications, and create cost and delay.