Work Christmas Functions - Quick tips to keep them festive
14 November 2019
Christmas Functions are all about celebrating the year that has been and giving your employees a chance to get together and have a bit of fun, however, they have developed a bit of a reputation over the years, most of us will hear a story in the next few weeks of someone celebrating a little too much. As employers it is important to remember that you have responsibilities for your staff members at any work-related Christmas functions, so here are some quick tips.
Christmas and New Year Public Holiday Entitlements 2019/20
7 November 2019
The Christmas and New Year period is fast approaching, as of today there are just 48 days until Christmas rocks around (that number is just a tad daunting). This year the Christmas and New Year public holidays fall on Wednesday 25 December, Thursday 26 December, Wednesday 1 January and Thursday 2 January meaning that the public holidays are observed on the day that they fall (there is no Mondayisation).
ERA Hiking Employee Awards
22 October 2019
Recent Employment Relations Authority (ERA) cases have amply demonstrated the state of the nation with respect to employee awards for poor terminations.
Sacked for taking 'sickies' a Palmerston North roofer got awarded $20,000, $12,000 of which was for hurt and humiliation. The employer had also refused to attend the ERA hearing.
Clubs New Zealand 2019 Wage and Salary Guide
11 October 2019
We would like to thank all clubs that participated in the recent 2019 Wage and Salary Survey and are pleased to announce that the Clubs New Zealand 2019 Wage and Salary Guide is now available for members to download in the resource room.
The 2019 Wage and Salary Survey was conducted as an online survey from 13th August 2019 through to 27th September 2019 for which we received a total of 157 responses.
Process and Substance...the 'sauce' for Success
10 October 2019
With media reports it could be easy to reach a generalised view that even where an employee behaves badly, they can still succeed in taking a personal grievance claim. However, a recent decision of the Employment Relations Authority shows that a sound, but not perfect, process and good reasons will ultimately win through (Tupuanga v Auckland Meat Processors Limited [2019] NZERA 471).
Labour Day - Monday 28th October 2019
10 October 2019
Labour Day is fast approaching and this year falls on Monday 28th October (fourth Monday in October). Labour Day is always observed on the day it falls and is not subject to 'mondayisation', calculating employee entitlements for labour day should be simple and can be done with the click of a button in most payroll systems.
Measles epidemic – what employers need to know
19 September 2019
Measles is a highly contagious illness as we can see from current news reports about the spread of the disease. Your workplace may well already be impacted by this disease, either due to employees becoming ill, being absent to care for family members or possibly due to the nature of the business i.e. care of young children or others at risk.
Marlborough women awarded $28,600 after unjustified dismissal
6 August 2019
A Marlborough publican who emailed his bar manager for compensation for "time wasted" to deal with her bullying complaints must pay the woman close to $30,000.
Junction Hotel owner Mike Pink asked employee Dawn Langdon for $500 for dealing with her "tirade" of emails and personal meetings after she raised bullying concerns at the pub.
Top Four Hire Tips
1 August 2019
Clubs are seen as employers of choice, because of good wages and conditions, training and development of staff. So, all you need to do is pop an ad in your local paper and you'll be flooded with top-quality staff. Take your pick and we all live - and work - happily ever after!
Required Overtime...Is it allowed?
18 June 2019
In a recent case, Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa Inc v New Zealand Post Limited [2019] NZEmpC 47, a full Court of the Employment Court tackled the issue of availability provisions in employment agreements and concluded that while the amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000 ("ERA") that occurred in 2016 effectively outlawed "zero-hour" contracts, the impact of those changes have a broader application.
Personal Penalties for Breach of Employment Agreement
7 May 2019
A recent decision considers an often asked question and is the first to provide for personal penalties against an individual for breaches of good faith. The matter, Nicholson v. Ford was an appeal by Alan Nicholson against an Authority decision finding him personally liable for breaches of good faith against Matthew Ford. Allan Nicholson was the Director, Chief Executive and a Shareholder in a dental practice, Clinico, that employed Mr Ford as an accounts administrator. Mr Nicholson wished to restructure the company that employed Mr Ford. Mr Nicholson was responsible for the redundancy process that ultimately led to Mr Ford’s dismissal.
Domestic Violence, role of the employer
24 April 2019
Statistics tell us Police respond to a family violence incident every 5 minutes on average, and 76% of these incidents also go unreported.
As the Employer you now have a duty and role to play if any of your staff become victims of domestic violence, or are the primary care giver for victims of the same.
Now with a framework of employer paid support in workplaces it's likely that most businesses will experience the issue first hand at some point. Businesses need to be ready, managers need to know what to do.
