Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act
National passed this Act as part of the budget legislation package. It will:
- increase entitlement from 14 to 16 weeks on 1 April 2015 and to 18 weeks on 1 April 2016, and
- extend eligibility to ‘Home for Life’ parents and to people who have recently changed jobs, seasonal and casual workers and workers with more than one employer.
It will also allow people on paid parental leave to come back to work for activities like training and planning days.
But Labour MP Sue Moroney’s Bill is still alive, having passed its second reading and been referred to select committee on the votes of the Māori Party and Peter Dunne. National has said that it will use the financial veto to defeat it if necessary.
More labour inspectors for Christchurch
A further six labour inspectors and seven immigration staff have been appointed to Christchurch to prevent the abuse of migrant workers in the Canterbury rebuild.
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill
This Bill passed its second reading on 19 March 2014 but is unlikely to make further progress before the elections because it does not have Māori Party support so the loss of John Banks’ vote will have cost National its majority. The Bill is opposed by the parties of the centre-left because it seeks to strengthen the options available to the employer in relation to collective bargaining, industrial action, flexible working arrangements, the scope of the duty of good faith and continuity of employment. We commented in our first Workplace Watch on the changes recommended by the select committee, refer link below.
Link: Chapman Tripp commentary, first item
- | June 2014
Contents
Employment relations 1
Health and safety 2
Industry training 2
KiwiSaver 3
Remuneration 3
The courts 4
ACC 5
Health and safety
Health and Safety Regulations
A discussion document on proposed regulations to underpin the new Health and Safety at Work Act has been released. Proposals cover: general risk and workplace management, worker participation, engagement and representation; and managing workplace hazards. Submissions close on 18 July 2014.
Link: Chapman Tripp commentary
Stress at work
An international survey by recruitment firm Regus has found that
workplace stress is increasing in New Zealand.
Industry training
Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill
This has now been passed – although narrowly, on the vote of
Peter Dunne. It:
- removes the age restriction on apprenticeship training
- exposes ITOs to contestability by making government funding available to alternative providers
- allows the Minister to impose conditions and performance requirements on ITOs, and
- strengthens NZQA’s powers in relation to ITOs.
NZQA has issued a consultation paper inviting feedback on proposals to extend its quality assurance categories to ITOs. The new framework is to come into force in August.
Submissions close on 18 June.
Link: Minister’s statement on Bill’s passage
- | June 2014
Contents
Employment relations 1
Health and safety 2
Industry training 2
KiwiSaver 3
Remuneration 3
The courts 4
ACC 5
KiwiSaver
Labour backing compulsory KiwiSaver
Labour will campaign on making KiwiSaver compulsory for most employees (all except those who can demonstrate hardship or high earners who can show they have sufficient savings). Once everyone is in, they will raise the contribution rate over time to 9% – whether 4.5% from the employee and the employer or some other combination is still to be worked through.
Labour is also proposing to use KiwiSaver contribution rates as a monetary policy tool to take the pressure off the interest rate mechanism as high interest rates tend to feed into a high dollar.
The idea, although worthy of debate, lacks some important detail at this stage.
Link: Chapman Tripp commentary
Remuneration
Minimum wage can now be calculated at 80 hours over a fortnight
The minimum wage will be able to be calculated over two weeks rather than over one week from 26 June.
The Government changed the Minimum Wage Order in response to a recent Court ruling that a week was the longest time salaried
employees could be assessed for compliance with the Minimum Wage Act.
The Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Bill
This has been reported back from select committee. The committee has proposed four exceptions to the taxation of employer-provided accommodation:
- mobile workplaces, such as ships, trucks or oil rigs
- a station in Antarctica
- lodging provided for shift workers, such as fire-fighters, ambulance
staff and care-givers, and
- accommodation provided in remote locations for prescribed periods,
such as miners who fly regularly to and from a mining camp.
Because this list may not be comprehensive, facility will be included in the Bill to allow other exclusions to be added by Order in Council.
In relation to employer provided meals, the Bill now provides that the new tax rules can be back-dated to 1 April 2011 where employers have been treating as tax-exempt meals which should be taxed – i.e. which were not provided in the context of a work-related event. This is in line with the transitional provisions applied to accommodation.
Link: The Bill as reported back
- | June 2014
Contents
Employment relations 1
Health and safety 2
Industry training 2
KiwiSaver 3
Remuneration 3
The courts 4
ACC 5
Employee share schemes
Employee share schemes are exempted from the full disclosure requirements of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA). The change, which came into effect on 1 April, removes the requirement under the previous legislation to issue a full prospectus and audited financial accounts.
To qualify for the exemption, an offer must:
- be made to employees, contractors or directors (of either the
company or a subsidiary of the company)
- be made as part of remuneration arrangements for the recipients or otherwise in connection with their employment
- not be made for general fund raising purposes, and
- represent no more than 10% of the company’s shares over a 12 month period.
The courts
Zee Tags holiday pay bonus decision
Non-discretionary incentive payments must be included in the calculation of holiday pay, even where the payment comes due after the employment has ended (in this case, 12 months after termination).
The Employment Court took the view that “gross earnings” include all payments that the employer is contractually bound to make.
Take-out: ensure that you are fully meeting your statutory obligations with regard to holiday pay entitlements. Failure to do so could expose you to a significant liability.
Carter Holt Harvey drug testing decision
The Employment Relations Authority found that CHH did not have reasonable cause to drug test workers on the basis of a marijuana plant growing outside the factory. Employers can only test within the limits of their policy. The wording of the relevant clause in this case required the employer to have reasonable cause that the employees’ “actions, appearance, or behaviour suggested that they may be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol”.
Take-out: ensure that your drug policy achieves what you want it to achieve and that you understand clearly the boundaries of the policy.
Judge criticised for leisurely judgments
The Court of Appeal has criticised the Chief Employment Court Judge for taking 26 months to deliver a judgment.
- | June 2014
Contents
Employment relations 1
Health and safety 2
Industry training 2
KiwiSaver 3
Remuneration 3
The courts 4
ACC 5
ACC
ACC proposes big levy cuts
ACC is proposing significant levy cuts for 2015-16:
- reducing the combined average motor vehicle levy and the petrol levy by 40%
- reducing the average work levy by 21%
- reducing the average earners’ levy by 5%.
ACC will consult on the proposed new levies then make a recommendation
to the Government for final decision. The consultation ends on June 17.
Privacy waiver form too broad
ACC has withdrawn a privacy waiver form after the District Court ruled that the scope of the waiver was too broad. ACC had been requiring claimants to sign the form as a condition of receiving compensation payments.
The Court advised that the waiver should be limited to medical and other records that are or may be relevant to the claim.
Contact
DOUG ALDERSLADE – PARTNER
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E: doug.alderslade@chapmantripp.com
GARTH GALLAWAY – PARTNER
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M: +64 27 507 5390
E: garth.gallaway@chapmantripp.com
PHEROZE JAGOSE – PARTNER
T: +64 4 498 4954
M: +64 27 241 2999
E: pheroze.jagose@chapmantripp.com
MARIE WISKER – SENIOR ASSOCIATE
T: +64 9 358 9845
M: +64 27 559 8571
