r/LegalAdviceNZ

Hi everyone, I made a terrible mistake by drink-driving outside of work. My breath test was over 800 micrograms. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

This is my first offence, and I deeply regret what I did. I've stopped drinking and learned a hard lesson from this. I never want to make the same mistake again.

My employer has raised the possibility of dismissal because my licence is suspended. I'm really worried and honestly don't know what to do.I've been overthinking everything and feeling depressed while going through a lot emotionally. I can't figure out what to do or where to start.

I've never been to court before, so I don't know what to expect or how the process works.

Can my employer dismiss me for something that happened outside work? Would completing a drink-driving course help my situation? Should I get a lawyer? I've been overthinking everything and c

Any advice about court, employment law, or what steps I should take next would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I had pulled out of a property purchase as I found out the cladding was no longer recommended by the manufacturer (leaky homes concerns, Shadowclad). The house is 2021, and I don't see I could reasonably have known that a 5 year old house would use cladding that has already been discontinued. The paint colour also doesn't seem to match the specs (this is not just an aesthetic issue, the builder has recommend re-painting a light colour).

After I pulled out, the agent rang me on Friday and convinced me to change my mind, saying that the issues were quite minor. He said he'd get a warranty from the manufacturer if I asked my lawyer to reinstate. I told him I'd reinstate after he had the docs, but he said I'd need to reinstate before that for the vendor to still work with me, as they'd had another offer.

My lawyer said she would send a request to reinstate, but did warn that they'd probably only accept if I was intending on settling. I said yes.

Their lawyer hasn't responded yet, as this all happened about 5pm Friday.

I've thought about it, and I really still want to cancel. I just don't believe they issued are minor.

1. The builder did only describe these as maintenance items, not defects. What is the threshold for pulling out. Its meant to be objective and material. Realistically, there isn't much wrong with the house right now- the described issues are maintenance items, my concern is what they are potentially a symptom of. The builder has said "fix back and monitor". It's the monitor part that worries me.

2. if they accept the reinstatement request before I cancelled it, is this it- can I actually cancel it again. I didn't sign anything saying I would waive the conditons, but I did verbally say to my lawyer I was happy with finance, LIM, etc. I asked if I could still negotiate fixes on the report after reinstatement. She said I could try, but it probably wouldn't be accepted.

I'm a bit worried that my actions may be considered not in good faith, but I am genuinely panicking about the weatherproofing of this house.

TDLR - they're trying to essentially charge us a couple thousand over bond & withholding our bond. Seem like we are somehow responsible for the landlords renovations of the apartment so that they can rent it out at a more expensive weekly rate (was on Trademe for 3 months and they still haven't tenanted the place)
My husband and I recently moved out of an apartment after a two-year tenancy. Our former property manager is withholding our bond and claiming several thousand dollars over the bond amount in damages.

We have paid out of pocket for professional cleaners (2x), professional rug cleaning (the state of apartment had human hair/pet dander/old clothes when we moved in), and a power wash of the outside due to excessive mould growing. We are respectful tenants however the apartment had very poor cheaply made fixtures that kept breaking throughout our tenancy and I would always raise this with the property manager.

They've now said they'll take us to the Tenancy Tribunal.

My main concerns are -

Painting: We're being charged for repairing and
repainting multiple walls due to artwork and shelving.
However, many screws/hooks were already there when we moved in (we have video evidence), and the original listing shows artwork throughout the property. Our own wall hangings were also visible during routine inspections throughout the 2 years without any concerns being raised until our lease ended and after they couldn't rent the apartment for $50 more per week.

Wardrobe: We accidentally dented one wardrobe panel and acknowledged responsibility. They initially said 1 panel needed to be replaced but now we're now being quoted for replacing the entire three-door system, including tracks.

Other damage: There are additional claims involving blinds breaking, a light fitting and a body corporate noise complaint from 2025 (which we're happy to pay and again only just got notified of it. Some maintenance issues had previously been reported by us but weren't addressed.

Bond: We've requested evidence, quotes/itemised costs and the return of any undisputed bond, but the property manager has now stopped discussing the matter and says they'll apply to the Tribunal.

We're happy to pay for damage we're genuinely responsible for, but we're concerned about being charged for pre-existing damage, general wear and tear, and replacing entire fixtures rather than repairing them.

Has anyone been through something similar? Would you recommend applying to the Tenancy Tribunal ourselves or waiting for the landlord's application? How does the Tribunal generally approach depreciation, painting costs and claims for full replacements?

We have move-in videos, original listing photos, routine inspection photos and email correspondence to support our position.

Any advice would be appreciated!

I bought a kogan mobile prepay voucher that i thought i activated but it turns out i didnt and now the voucher is expired and i cant use it.
I just read online that:
Purchased on or after 16 March 2026: Under the Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Act 2024, gift cards and vouchers must have a minimum 3-year expiry period from the date of sale. If a shorter expiry date was stated on your voucher, it is legally void and defaults to three years. [1, 2]

Would this apply for me?

Thanks!

I’m on a work visa (currently have 2 years left), working as a skilled labour-turned-supervisor/project manager for a small-to-medium construction company doing mostly residential projects. I've been here 3 years, got two wage rises along the way (not like market value for managing and supervising, $10 overall) as I took on more responsibilities, but things have taken a bad turn recently. ​How I got here: ​We started mainly doing residential jobs, but when we took on a couple of commercial projects, the company needed someone to handle the office side of things as well as site coordination. Because I could handle the admin, review drawings, sketch details, write emails, and run the boys, I stepped up. ​Over time, my role shifted from a standard carpenter to a site supervisor / managing multiple projects at the same time. The workload exploded. I was running office coordination, delivering materials, take care of tools and stuff, doing paper/drawing reviews, handling QS stuff like variations and claims, and trying to physically bounce between multiple active sites to keep an eye on the work. ​The problem starts when: ​No support & too much on my plate: As the jobs grew, I told management that I physically couldn't manage everything alone and that the team on site needed more labor support or a formal who I can rely on him for take care of labours part, I got nothing. ​Because of skill gaps with some of the crew on site, I was spending my time trying to fix mistakes and chase tails rather than actually managing and mistakes happens. I told them straight: this isn't management, it's babysitting. ​Recently, after warning them a couple times that we were stretched too thin, they called me into the office. ​What they did: ​Management sat me down and said they are "not happy with my performance" and are trying to decrease my wages. ​They are pinning all the project problems and issues on me, completely ignoring the fact that: ​They refused to hire adequate labor when I asked. ​They loaded multiple concurrent projects onto a single person without proper engineering or project management support. ​I've worked my absolute hardest for them for 3 years, but because I’m tied to a work visa, and the jobs is cooled down for now, I feel like they think I have nowhere else to go and are trying to scapegoat me for their understaffing and poor planning.

​My questions for Reddit: ​- can an employer legally cut your pay in New Zealand just because they claim performance issues, or does that require a formal variation to your employment agreement/consultation process?

• since I'm planning to stay here, and also I know the only reference for me is the same company, and I don't want to make a bad influence in my record, so by your experiences on the market and working culture of NZ, what's the best action?

​Any advice from people in the construction industry or employment law would be massively appreciated.

My father passed away nearly a year ago and we just found out that my sister was the executor of his will but she was never notified. Apparently the lawyer that dad's will was with had retired. Should his new lawyer have contacted my sister even though the will wasn't written out through him?

I've been having issues with my employer and was wondering if anyone knows what I could do.

I've been working as a temp for this agency for almost a year, and a couple months in they offered me a 30 hours guarantee for each week. I had issues over Xmas because my client job was shut down for around 5 weeks and they didnt offer me other work so they didnt end up paying me. It took me 4 months to get sorted and I eventually got my payment after back and forth.

I have a client site rate that I work at, and my top up hours are paid at minimum wage. They pay any public holiday at minimum wage because 'theres no work anyway', they chose when to use the top up, I injured myself and was on ACC for 6 weeks and they requested I stay on it for another 2 so they can get an assignment lined up for me, and then didn't have anything.

All to say, I've had issues with them and this hour 'guarantee'.

My current problem is transitioning back from ACC to work, 2 days after my med cert ended they offered me a job that required me to shave. Because of my own traditional reasons, I asked if shaved sides would suit. My boss said no and that he's ruling me out as its a non negotiable, and now is saying I am not eligible for the top up because I refused the work. Problem is, I only asked a couple questions, I would have considered shaving, especially if he told me their position, but it was a 3 message conversation .

Im on another assignment now, but im out 2 weeks pay and they're not even considering the 2 days after my med cert and they didnt give me any work the week after either.

All my contract states is i need to be ready, willing, and able to work to qualify for the top up.

Any advice on what i should do?

Hi team. I started a fixed term contract in January with 10 days sick leave. Unfortunately in March my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I had to help take care of him. I was able to work remotely from his house, but sometimes I had to just take whole days off because it wasn't possible to care for him adequately and work at the same time. My boss kindly allowed me to take these days off as sick leave and before dad passed away, I had two weeks off split between sick leave, annual leave, and then bereavement. Between that situation and two bouts of RSV, I have used all of my 10 days of sick leave.

In September, I was awarded a permanent role and signed a new contract which included a payrise, and it mentioned the standard 10 days sick leave and 4 weeks of annual leave per year.

My understanding was that once I started the permanent role, my existing annual leave would be paid out to me in the final pay received from the temp role, and I'd start the permanent role with zero accrued annual leave and a fresh 10 days of sick leave - the company i work for allows sick leave in the first 6 months.

Now that I've started the permanent role and got my first payslip, it looks like my annual leave wasn't paid out to me like I thought it would be, and I've still not got any sick leave.

Does anyone know if that's correct? Or do the leave balances stay the same, because I have moved from a temp role to a permanent role at the same company?

I emailed HR to ask about this at the start of October, and never heard back.

If I don't get any sick leave til January that's fine - I'll power through or take an unpaid day if I'm perishing 🙂

I am a new mum going back to work in a few months and plan on pumping so I can continue feeding my baby. I am having trould finding specific legal requirements for the workplace around pumping. My plunket nurse said that they are required to give me an extra 20 min unpaid break, and a private room with a lock and fridge, but again having trouble finding this online.

Would appreciate advice around this, I do work in ECE so my work will hopefully be good about my requirements.

TIA

I’ve worked with this employer for almost 4 years now, and for the past two years there have been a lot of updates and changes to the company. One of the changes states that if we are tardy three times that we will be deducted a day of unpaid leave. This is a part-time job, and most days are 3 1/2 hours to four hours long. Is that legal?

EDIT turns out that the wheelchair assistance option was greyed out when she booked but she booked anyway. I’m not sure why 🙄. Appreciate the responses anyway!

My elderly grandmother has booked a flight to Australia. She called the airline to confirm her mobility requirements (wheelchair onto the plane and assistance from security) and again at the other end). They have told her they can only assist a maximum of two passengers per flight and two other people have already requested assistance so she will have to manage on her own. She also cannot cancel her flight now without losing her money. Is this legal? I don’t know if airlines are obliged to assist passengers or not. If we had known, we would have booked for one of us to travel with her (she is going to visit my aunt so will have help once there). Appreciate the responses

My employer insists work related injuries must be seen by the company doctor, with a manager sitting in each consultation. What are my rights here?

I injured myself at work nearly two years ago. When I asked if I could see my own doctor my employer said "no" and that it was policy to see the company doctor. During each visit one of my managers would accompany me and sit in on each consultation. It felt really creepy, invasive, and emotionally distressing, but I felt threatened and intimidated into keeping quiet. I also have other sensitive medical conditions that could have led to adverse treatment at work that I was terrified were going to be exposed. I believe this is done to get people back to work faster than if they saw their own doctor.

I'm not interested in seeking compensation but was just asking about what my rights are. Is this standard practice among New Zealand employers? It's still current policy at this workplace.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't know if it's actual policy to have managers sit in on consultations. However, I attended four times with three different managers and on each occasion each manager would get up and automatically follow me into the consultation room. Essentially, it was my responsibility to tell them no.

Since approx April this year my job has required me to undergo expensive training for a new machine. I had no interest in training with this machine but it was required for my job. It's a pretty niche machine and won't really help me when I work anywhere else.

For the first three trainings I have been required to sign an agreement where if I leave (OR my position gets terminated) within 12 months of signing the agreement I must pay back all training costs and wages associated with it. The agreement says I must pay the fee within 7 days of leaving and/ or it will come out of my final pay.

I am required to go on yet more training down south next month and I am just waiting for the agreement to cross my desk. This is getting into the thousands and I'm really uncomfortable signing another agreement for such a big trip. I am wanting to resign early next year but I feel trapped by such enormous costs. Does my employer have the right to force me to sign this? Any advice would be really helpful. Thank you.

I need a Will (anytime from now), a relationship agreement so it doesn't default to my partner getting 50/50 when we become defacto in a year or two if we ended up breaking up etc, and a property agreement for when we eventually buy a house together probably in 3 years time all going well.

Wondering how to time lawyer involvement so it is the lowest cost possible for me, but also protects my money (I basically have the entire deposit for the house). Please advise thank you.

With my mother currently in hospital and the family farm being in a trust, can my sister withhold financial records from other family members who are beneficiaries of the trust ? We are trying to see what funds are available for my mother to go into a nice home rather than a government funded home. My sister says the farm can support her but she won't give the financial records so we can do a profit forecast.