Bell Gully: Latest News

Working from home - as good as it sounds?

Work-life balance and the flexible workplace is among the hot employment topics of the moment.

Breaking up is hard to do

It is no accident that, under New Zealand law, the contract of employment is referred to as a "relationship".

God in the workplace

Here's how the apocryphal goes: shortly after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 a reader wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times. It read: "Dear God, why do you let this sort of this happen in our schools?"

When is a deal a deal?

Many agreements in the school yard are settled (after extensive oral negotiation) with a handshake - often involving some sort of "secret" element, known only to the members of a solemn sub-tribe of pupils.

Firing someone for not speaking proper

There's a school of thought these days that language is all about communication: as long as you get your message across to your recipient, rules of grammar (and in some cases, spelling) are unimportant.

Military battle fought out in British court

In the ordinary course of life, it would seem trite to emphasise that the law applies to us all - irrespective of our personal status and circumstances.

Drug testing in the workplace - essential or excessive?

Picture this. It's Sunday morning. You are just sitting down to read the paper when there's a knock on your door. You open it to find your boss demanding a urine sample there and then to determine what substances you may have indulged in the previous night. Would you be happy to oblige?

The whistle blower and religious devotion

Employment law often provides us with cases that lend themselves to good yarns.