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Published 23 November 2022 | 2 min read
Below you'll find some quick information on New Zealand's current Holidays act review taking place and the proposed recommendations/changes.
It's a good refresher as things may be changing soon!
The purpose of the Holidays Act Review
The Government established the Holidays Act Taskforce to suggest improvements to the Holidays Act, following a joint request from unions and employers.
The Taskforce included employer, worker and government representatives, and was chaired by Gordon Anderson, a law professor at Victoria University with extensive experience in employment law.
The Taskforce was asked to make recommendations on options for a clear and transparent set of rules for providing entitlements to, and payment for, holidays and leave.
The Taskforce’s objective was to recommend changes that address the high degree of ambiguity that has made the Holidays Act difficult to understand and implement for employers, and to make it easier for employees to understand their entitlements.
The Taskforce’s recommendations
The Taskforce made 22 recommendations which were jointly agreed to by union and business representatives. The Government has accepted the Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommendations.
The recommendations revise the system for determining, calculating and paying employees’ statutory leave entitlements. The recommendations also include some changes to employees’ leave entitlements and introduce greater transparency to ensure employees are fully informed about their leave entitlements.
The changes include new methodologies and tests:
- New processes for determining how much leave entitlement an employee needs to use for a period of time away from work.
- A new test for determining an Otherwise Working Day.
- Revised tests for determining if an employee is eligible for leave.
- New processes for calculating payments for leave.
- A revised definition of Gross Earnings.
- A new test for when an employee may receive their annual holiday entitlement on a ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ basis.
The changes will increase access to some leave entitlements:
- From their first day of employment eligible employees will be entitled to bereavement leave and family violence leave, and will begin accruing sick leave.
- Bereavement leave will be expanded so that employees can access 3 days leave for more family members, including cultural family groups and more modern family structures.
- The parental leave override will be removed, meaning that employees returning from parental leave will be paid at their full rate for all their annual holidays.
Click here for more information from MBIE.