Holidays Act Review Recommendations Accepted
29 April 2021
In 2018 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.
ANZAC Day 2021 - Trading Hours, Special Licences and Employee Entitlements
8 April 2021
ANZAC Day 2021 is only a couple of weeks away and no doubt our RSA members are anticipating a huge turn out after last years commemorations were held from within bubbles. This ANZAC Day falls on Sunday 25th April, the public holiday is Mondayised for those whom Sunday is not otherwise a working day.
Below is an overview on trading hours, special licence requirements and employee entitlements for ANZAC Day.
Easter Public Holidays - Employee Entitlements
25 March 2021
This year Easter Friday falls on Friday 2nd April and Easter Monday falls on Monday 5th April. It is also important to remember that while not a public holiday Easter Sunday does have its own set of rules you must be familiar with.
Below is a quick overview of the public holiday entitlements, if you require further information please contact National Office or visit the employment.govt.nz website.
Minimum wage rises by $1.10 on 1 April 2021
23 March 2021
The Government has confirmed that the adult minimum wage will increase, from $18.90 to $20.00 per hour on 1 April 2021.
The starting-out and training minimum wage rates will also increase on 1 April 2021, from $15.12 to $16.00 per hour.
Covid-19 Vaccinations
10 March 2021
There have been an increasing number of questions asked and articles written in New Zealand and overseas as the world ramps up Covid-19 vaccination programmes. Our take on some of these issues:
Resurgence Support Payments now available
24 February 2021
COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) is available now through the IRD.
Am I Dismissed Or Not?
17 February 2021
You would think that it would be crystal clear when someone has been dismissed from their employment. And in most cases it is. But on occasions, it can be a real head scratcher. A recent case from the Employment Court, Concrete Structures (NZ) Limited v Sam Ward, saw the Chief Judge state that a dismissal can occur even when neither the employee nor the employer subjectively believes that a dismissal has occurred.
Tribulations of Trial Periods
19 January 2021
While the law has been in place for a while, there are still cases working through the Authority where employees who have been employed under a trial period have made successful claims of unjustified dismissal.
No Vaping Please
25 November 2020
Vaping is now officially banned from the workplace.
Since the 11th November 2020 the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 has come into force which now includes vaping and vape type products including e-cigarettes under the same restrictions as tobacco products.
Christmas and New Year Public Holiday Entitlements 2020/21
12 November 2020
The Christmas and New Year period is fast approaching, as of today there are just 43 days until Christmas. This year the Christmas and New Year public holidays fall on Friday 25 December, Saturday 26 December, Friday 1 January and Saturday 2 January. Christmas Day and New Years day will be observed on the day that they fall. Boxing Day and the Day after New Years will be subject to Mondayisation.
Mondayisation always throws up a few curly questions so it is important that you take the time to ensure that you fully understand your employees entitlements.
It's Pay Back Time!
5 November 2020
While not a regular occurrence, there have been occasions where employers have overpaid employees, and then sought to recover these overpayments. Commonly, this is the result of a mistake in payroll. However, there are instances where employees are paid in advance, and then do not return the funds on leaving employment.
New Labour Government - what's on the workplace reform agenda?
5 November 2020
At New Zealand’s October general election, the Labour Party won a majority of Parliament’s seats and is likely to govern alone. Some of the workplace policies Labour campaigned on included:
