r/LegalAdviceNZ

Hi Everyone, I don't know which category this falls under. A friend at my workplace is who is on a learner driver license was driving one of our company vehicles which was not insured and got into a crash on the highway in rainy weather due to the breaks locking up. The damage was mostly on the company vehicle and the damage repair estimate came back for 5k. Now the employers are trying to collect the full payment from him and he is unsure whether he is liable for the full sum or whether it should he 50/50 ? He is on a casual 20 hours per week contract but he never signed an actual contract as it was never sent to him to sign. The employers just got his ird details and put him on the payroll. I want to help him out with some advice because he is really stressed out about this situation. I understand there are so many flaws in the company and their conduct itself. But any ideas or advice you can provide are very helpful. Thanks in advance.

looking for some advice please. I engaged a mortgage broker who approached me directly after seeing my anonymous post in a FB group where he is an admin. I am locked in with him as my broker as I signed a scope of service which has a deterrent fee of pver $2k. I clearly stated from the beginning I wanted to stay with my existing bank or go with another specific bank for a refinance and renovation top-up.

Without asking me he approached a completely different bank and got approval. I verbally agreed to look at it but never signed any documents agreeing to go with that bank. When I asked him to approach my preferred banks instead he said it would be extra work whixh requires an extra fee if i choose to go with a different bank he approached. He has also threatened a large deferred fee if I go to any bank directly myself, even though he hasn't approached my preferred banks despite me asking repeatedly.

Is this normal broker behaviour? Am I within my rights to ask him to approach my preferred banks without being charged extra? Has anyone else experienced this or can anyone shed some light?

Used a guy know for odd jobs, to try work out why my water bill was so high. He did something that only caused more damage.

I've made an insurance claim for the damage he caused. They've assessed, and said they accept the quote we got from a builder. But the third party assessor on behalf of the insurance company is asking for the handyman details.

A quick Google search suggests plumbing work needs to completed by a qualified professional. If they find out he isn't, could this invalidate my claim?

I'd also rather not provide his details and get him in trouble or liable for costs..

My work used to be flexible about working from home, but they've slowly gotten stricter about it. They want me in office 3 days a week.

I got pulled into a meeting and told I wasn't meeting that expectation. After the meeting, I was given a letter of expectations that says "at least two days in office". I signed and returned this agreement.

I thought they were being nice by saying 2 days. I was happy about the agreement because of this.

One week later, I try to work from home a third day, and they tell me it was a typo, they want 3 days in office.

Since both me and my boss signed the version that says 2 days, can I hold them to this? Can they force me to sign a new agreement that says 3 days?

EDIT: hilarious how that one guy in the comments is arguing the meaning of "at least" when my question wasn't about that.

EDIT 2: Thanks to those with genuine advice. Seems I have weigh out my options: argue sticking with the original and risk further developments, or sign a new letter of expectations once presented and adhere for the sake of peace. Either way, seems like time to find a new job since we're not on the same page about the previously allowed flexibility.

I am thinking of applying to remove the father of my 2 girls as Guardian. Or should I try mediation again, or apply for parental order. I am leaning towards removing him as Guardian, as he scares me, and I really don't want to go through the stress of waiting for resolution like I did 4 years ago.

##Why

My daughter (9yrs) has nuero-diverse tendencies. When she was at kindy, she had specialists working with her through kindy. Her outbursts aren't as often now, but they can be uncontrollable once she passes a threshold. I have taken her to see the doctor in the past. They suggested she gets counselling through school.

Last year, her school put her on a waiting list for Mana Ake, she got accepted 2 weeks ago. Last week, her dad gave his consent. On Monday, he made a complaint to the school, and pulled his consent.

##The Facts

1. He moved out 2018-2019

2. He hasn't spent anytime with the girls since October 2023

3. I applied for mediation in 2021, & 2022. He never responded to it. I have a text message to say that he will hide from them

4. I completed Parenting Through Separation Course 2021

5. I have messages of him skirting his responsibilities when he did have contact

6. He refused to have them overnight, and would pick and choose when it suited him

7. He pays $120 a week for two girls

8. All school expenses, uniforms, extra circular activities I pay for

9. He does send them gifts in the post

10. He is not allowed near me due to his aggressive behaviour in the past.

11. No protection order is in place, but the cops have spoken to him about keeping away from me.

12. His violent/stalking behaviour stopped after the cops spoke to him

13. He has a drug and alcohol problem

14. His eldest daughter, who has a child, is willing to write a letter

15. I work full-time, and have no support about from my eldest son. They're in after-school care, and holiday programme

16. I have the girls 24/7

His eldest daughter, and her mum have both said he's been diagnosed with schizophrenia. But I have no way to prove that, so have asked her not to include that in her letter.

I have made an appointment with my daughters doctor, to see what options are available without her dad's consent. I'm thinking there will be none.

I haven't bothered pursuing any Parental Order over the last 3 yrs, because life has been good. My 10yr old even mentioned the other day how lucky they were, cos of all the cool stuff they get to do.

Hi all. I've just received a job offer contract for a permanent position, and while reading through it, I came across what seems to me to be a bit of a weird clause that appears to allow the hiring company to terminate me in the event I have to declare bankruptcy. The exact text is as follows:

> X. TERMINATION
> [...]
> X.Y Nothing in this clause will prevent summary dismissal in the event of:
> [...]
> X.Y.Z You being adjudicated bankrupt, committing any act of bankruptcy or entering into any scheme or arrangement with or for the benefit of your creditors;

I don't remember seeing this clause in any prior work contract I've ever had, and was wondering if this is normal. (This is my first in-person job in NZ - I've only previously worked remotely.) I could see this being a thing if it was a supplier contract or somesuch, but it strikes me as odd on a contract for a permanent position.

I'm happy to answer any questions that would provide more clarity.

Edit: The job is NOT financial, it is a sort-of-subset of IT (specifically something called "OT" - Operational Technology, working with sensors and control systems that interact with the real world), so I won't have admin access to everything, e.g. HR documents, financial statements, etc.

I am looking to hire some staff for my property management firm and am wondering if I could add a non-compete clause in the contract. The main thing I am trying to stop is people joining my firm, building a client base and then leaving taking those clients with them to their own company or a competing one. Can I do this and if so what are the limitations?

I'm renting and a couple of weeks ago was routinely changing my sheets and when I pulled the bed out from the wall, there were some mushrooms, black mould, and white fuzzy mould growing on the wall. I took photos, notified the landlord, and have moved my bed away from the wall. That was 1.5 weeks ago.

Today the roofer came over and told me that the downpipe directly outside my bedroom had been leaking and pouring into the downstairs flat, so he sealed a bunch of holes in it/in the wall a couple of weeks ago.

I picked up a cold this week and I feel like absolute crap. My anxiety is also abnormally high atm. I know legally it's the LL's job to fix the problem, and make sure the property is safe and dry etc, but I'm not sure what that actually looks like here - does he need to have it fixed already? Could I stay in a motel for a bit (paid for by the LL)?

ETA: LL has provided a dehumidifier which is running in the room, near the affected area.

Fixed term tenancy (signed in February); I live alone; no property manager; LL lives separate; this is the 3rd year of me living here; bond has been lodged by tenancy services

I've just noticed while looking through my banking history, that my Internet provider charged me twice for 4 months between September and December (inclusive) last year. Normally the payments go out (via stored card, not DD) on the 8th of each month, but for those 4 months they also took the same amount, $79.90 around the 20th. the total overpayment is $319.60

I've contacted them and they're denying it based on there being no records in their billing system for those dates, but my account statements clearly show the deductions, with no corresponding credits to balance them out.

I fear they may have a fraudster in their midst who has successfully evaded their internal systems to track the deductions, and I may only be one of many who have been scammed.

What is my next course of action to redress this? Should I go to the police?

Hi! I have been working for my employer for over 2 years now, and I started out as an independent contractor but have been on fixed term contracts as of recently. It has been pretty stressful because I am always left right up til the last minute to find out whether they are going to offer me another contract.

My first FTC was for 6 months covering maternity leave, during that time they talked about making me permanent and had all the plans shown to me. Then they told me they'd have to be letting me go, which sucked. THEN, on the 2nd last day of my contract they told me they actually wanted to extend for another 3 months. Not for the same maternity leave purpose, but to put me onto a new project. Now, my extension is coming to an end and they are talking about extending again. I think there must be a point where I am considered permanent, I just don't know when this legally would be. Also, does the fact that I was an independent contractor on back to back contracts before the FTC play into this?

I thought I might as well see if I can get some other opinions on here, thank you for taking the time to read this!

My mother is 77 and is living a good life independently. She is due to have a large surgery soon.
She does not agree with preparing for the future. She was forced into writing a will last year because she wanted a reverse mortgage.
At what point is it sensible to start the process for epoa? I’m assuming it needs to be started while they are not cognitively impaired?
I am starting to worry that in the future if she becomes impaired or when she passes, we won’t have any way to settle her accounts etc as we won’t have any authority to help her.

Kia ora

Just wondering if anyone has any successful experience with taking an airline to the disputes tribunal and is willing to share their experience with me?

I have been going round in circles with one of the main airlines regarding the costs for rebooking a flight (at our request) where they rebooked the passenger onto a flight which had (unbeknownst to us) already had check ins closed prior to when they sold the flight to us. So then a minute after going off the phone to check in, got told that flight was not possible to catch. I believe this is illegal under the fair trading act to do with accepting payment without supplying, as we would have course not agreed to book this flight with the subsequent change fee (and then another change fee to reinstate the original flight) if we knew it was not possible to use it.

The airline is saying we were a no show for the new flight so they don't have to do anything.

Its not a huge amount of money in the scheme of things (~$900) but it feels like the principle of it is important. I am interested in the chance of success with taking this to the disputes tribunal and if anybody has any advice about how to approach this to increase our chances. Or is this just not likely to be worth the stress?

Additional factor - this was booked by an incorporated society that I am chair of, for a third party, so it's his name on the ticket but the society paid for the flights and subsequent fees. Does this impact if we are able to take this to the tribunal? He is Australian based and came over on a one off contract so unlikely to want to get directly involved with this although I did have his permission in writing to follow this up with the airline (unsuccessfully).

Very grateful for any advice even if it is just "suck it up not worth the fight"

How could a trespass charge affect a 15 year old later in life?

For context. I am the parent wanting charges made against an adult(who happens to be a teacher at a local school ) involved in a situation (far worse for the adult)

Police told me both get charges or both don't (very much trying to stear me away from taking this further)

Thanks

Hey team.

Our front door had a glass segment that cracked this morning. The front door hasn’t closed properly for about a year. Last week she got someone to come replace the door handle, as it was hanging off. It’s been replaced but still doesn’t close properly and requires to be slammed to be closed.

I send photos to the property manager and told her that the door was cracked and she said that we would need to cover the cost of replacement.

She did get a guy to come “fix” the door handle. It’s now on (not hanging off) and no longer a safety issue and just a pain in the ass.

Are we legally required to pay for the replacement glass? If the door doesn’t close properly is that our fault?

We’ve been here for 4 years and never had any issues with the landlord other than this and consider ourselves good tenants.

Thanks guys

Hi everyone,

I am on a casual contract with my employer, and I was recently offered an additional shift by my manager, and I accepted it. I now want to get out of it, and no one can cover me. My contract says that once the employee agrees to a shift that is offered by the employer, they then have to do that shift.

The thing is, a few of my friends have told me that casuals can decline shifts pretty much whenever they want, so: is the above correct, or are my friends correct? What should I do?

Cheers

The issues :

- He owes us money.
Large amount accumulated over years. This has been confirmed by the relevant tradesperson. So we stay anonymous, I don’t want to add more identifying details.

- Serious leaks.
We are getting daily giant puddles in our kitchen and dining room. It slowly comes out from under the oven and the kitchen cabinetry, and a wall in the dining room. We have told him about this twice. We have to do extra loads of washing to keep up with the demand for towels. And run our dehumidifier often.

- Healthy homes standard.
The bathroom has no extractor fan. We are advised to open the window instead. Freezing at this time of year and doesn’t even work well, the walls stay WET. We also have a heat pump but we’re told it doesn’t work. Our only option is a 1960s unflued gas heater.

We eventually realised the heater combined with the leaks was creating too much moisture in the home. We had mould grow rapidly. We have had to throw away clothes, furniture and books in our time here.

- Toilet has a leak also. Water constantly runs down from the top (inside the toilet). So we turn the tap off at the wall when not in use, or it’s noisy. Again we have told him about this.

OTHER RELEVANT INFO:

* He lives very close to us, so if possible we would love to remain civil.
* I have been collecting photographic evidence of everything.
* He has known he owes us money since November 2025.
* We have lived here 4 years without a rental inspection.
* We are at a point that we cannot deny this is affecting our mental health. Also creating more chores around the house and affecting our asthma.
* He mentioned he wants to raise the rent soon. Our rent is what is considered affordable, for the area. But we do not agree with an increase with this many ongoing issues.

Thank you for making it this far, really appreciate you guys.

Just wanting some advice around a tenancy situation because I’m not sure if this is standard practice.

I have ended the lease on my flat and my final date of tenancy is X with a new tenant moving in a few days layer. (The day the tenancy ends is the day I usually pay rent).

I have received an email from my property manager stating that I have to continue to pay rent for an additional 3 days until the next tenant moves in even though my end of tenancy date is 3 days prior- is this normal practice?

And yes I could just email them and ask but I’m curious to know if anyone else has been in this situation before

Thanks

I covered maternity leave for one year fixed term..

Once it expired my boss offered me a contract of two permanent days and dropped my third day without a proper process leaving me confused with no explanation other than, because I cant start the shift early enough because I have autistic children its a struggle to find before school care. So she has given my 3rd shift to another employee. Is this ok? Even though ive still been asked to work the 3rd day for the next couple of weeks as I have for the last year. Even though the contract has ended and ive been offered a new one. I dont know what my rights are here. Im in hospitality

16th of Jan i completed a 3 hour unpaid trial, which essentially consisted of me pouring beers for customers. Upon completion I was accepted, sent my contract which i signed, and started full time work around the 23rd jan.

-Almost- 3 months later (14th april) my boss called me in, stated I was still on 90 day trial, and as a result of my performance, he was firing me on the spot.

Though since my trial constituted work, does that negate 90 day trial? If so, where can I go from here.