A construction worker who claims to have failed a workplace drug test due to eating cupcakes he did not realise were laced with cannabis has failed to have his job reinstated.

Tight budgets and heavy workloads are being blamed the "record levels" of personal grievances being laid by police employees.

A Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment report this month says amendments to the Employment Relations Act and the Holidays Act that the Govt made in 2011 have achieved some of their policy objectives in the short term.

Statistics show that the so-called "black sheep of the family" is neither rare nor endangered.

A man who posed as a licensed immigration adviser and took money from vulnerable would-be migrants is appealing against his sentence.

A barber was "genuinely fearful" of remaining in the presence of an employer who regularly made fun of him and told him "I hate white people".

About 100 staff and supporters picketed "super ministry" the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Mbie) this morning in a noisy protest over stalled pay talks.

A sawmilling company "completely misused" their drug and alcohol policy to drug test 190 staff after cannabis plants were found on company grounds, a union says.

A GP may face disciplinary action after he lied to a patient about abnormal blood test results as an excuse to see her.

After a highly successful New Zealand representative career comprising 25 tests and 93 one-day internationals, Martin Snedden practised as a lawyer and partner of an Auckland law firm.

"See you later" is how some businesses deal with staff members who go on parental leave. It's not the best approach if you want staff to come back, says Bev Cassidy-Mackenzie, chief executive of the Equal Employment Opportunities Trust (EEO).

A plumber who had to stand alone in the rain while he waited for a ride home after being sacked has been awarded damages and lost wages by the Employment Relation Authority.

Employers may be asked to do more for staff who are victims of domestic violence, if the Domestic Violence-Victims' Protection Bill is passed by Parliament.

A taxpayer-funded South Auckland disability support provider which received $30 million last year is investigating its own accounts.

McDonald's Chief Executive Don Thompson, defending the fast-food chain after worker protests this week, said its restaurants pay a fair wage.

Employers find it okay to employ Buddhists and Hindus but are wary of hiring Muslims, an AUT study has found.

Two years after running the Demand Equal Pay campaign to raise awareness around equal pay, the YWCA organisation is taking that campaign one step further.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown will be paid $259,500 from July after the Remuneration Authority approved a 3.4 per cent pay rise.

Award-winning American author, professor and researcher David L. Blustein is visiting Auckland this month and he has a few things he wants to say to New Zealanders about the meaning of work in people's lives.

Welcome to my regular column entitled "My Light Bulb Moment". This series highlights a "blinding flash of insight" business, cultural and sports leaders have had in their career, and how this changed their lives forever.

If we ripped up the wage floor, would pay for low-skill workers actually fall all that much? It's hard to say.

Studies show that diversity is a good thing in the workplace - it brings better ideas, more creativity and freshness into a business, it also helps organisations understand and work in different markets.

Think of your manager as your number one customer, says psychologist Keith McGregor. It's a concept most people haven't thought of when they complain "my boss never listens to me" or "my boss takes no interest in what I'm doing".

Sorry, but the careers literature starts to define you as an older worker around the age of 45 years - but in some ways it's a bonus because it's a strong message that it's time to rethink and revision your career.