International

L&E Global Winter Newsletter

Posted on 6 December 2012

“Redundancy and the obligation to provide information”

Redundancy and the obligation to provide information A common issue for New Zealand companies that are subsidiaries or branches of larger international organisations is managing the obligation to consult in good faith with employees about proposals which may impact on their continued employment. All too often, decisions are made internationally and New Zealand Managers are left in a situation where they are unable to comply with their obligation to consult with New Zealand employees about a proposal, as the decision has already been made.

The obligation to provide employees with information has arguably increased following a decision involving a New Zealand university. Until this decision, where employees were competing for positions in a downsizing situation, many employers had relied on the Privacy Act 1993 and not provided assessment material relating to other employees to individual employees. In this decision, the Employment Court clarified that the obligations under the Employment Relations Act 2000 trump obligations under the Privacy Act. As a consequence, the Court held that where there is a downsizing of roles (such as downsizing from five sales roles to three) and affected employees are competing for the remaining positions, those employees are entitled to request, and be provided with, information not only about their own assessment against the criteria, but also information about the other employees.

Read the full article in the latest LE Global newsletter >

L&E Global recognized by the Financial Times as a 2012 Legal Industry Pioneer

Posted on 5 October 2012

We are very proud to announce that L&E Global has been Highly Commended as a Legal Industry Pioneer by the Financial Times in their 2012 Innovative Lawyers Report which was published on Friday, October 5th 2012.

Now in its 7th year year – the annual Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report examines how law firms are contributing fresh thinking and practices to businesses around the world.

In 2012 there were over 450 applications made by law firms, from throughout Europe, to be recognized for their new and innovative approach to the business of law – in the very highly respected report on the European legal market.

Even more important to note though, is that out of the 13 organizations that were recognized as Legal Industry Pioneers, L&E Global is the only non-UK based legal business that appears in this specific ranking.

Read press release >

L&E Global Chambers Honour

Posted on 29 March 2012

The leading international legal research guide, Chambers Global 2012, has included L&E Global in its Spotlight Table of Global Employment Law Networks.

The newest edition notes: “L&E Global is an international network of elite boutique employment law firms. Members focus on all aspects of employment law, ranging from benefits to labour relations and immigration. The firms are recognised as premier exponents in the market and offer a worldwide service in more than 50 offices across the globe. Alliance firms have the ability to work together on complex cross-border organisational restructurings, and to deal with trade unions and offer integrated solutions in an international marketplace.”

“We are very pleased with this high honour,” says Stephan Swinkels, Executive Director of L&E Global. “To be recognised in this way is a testament to our innovative strategy of bringing together the premier labour and employment practitioners from around the world. In the coming months, we will be announcing the addition of other firms to our alliance as we continue the international expansion of L&E Global.”