News
Minimum wage increases from 1 April 2020
26 March 2020
The adult minimum wage will increase $1.20 from $17.70 to $18.90 per hour on 1 April 2020.
The new rate equates to an extra $48 per week before tax for employees on a 40-hour working week.
The starting-out and training minimum wage rates will increase 96 cents from $14.16 to $15.12, and will remain at 80% of the adult rate.
Covid-19 Wage Subsidy and Self Isolation Support
18 March 2020
Wage subsidies will be available for all employers that are significantly impacted by COVID-19 and are struggling to retain employees as a result.
Wage subsidies will be available for businesses in all sectors and all regions that can show a 30 per cent decline in revenue for any month between January and June 2020 compared to the year before (including projected revenue).
More on Coronavirus and the Workplace
13 February 2020
Clearly Coronavirus has well overtaken the SARs outbreak of 2003 with fatalities past 1000 now.
Although the likelihood of an imported case here in NZ is high, a local widespead outbreak is still considered unlikely.
People being advised to 'self-isolate' for 14 days if worried about their symptoms is seemingly NZ's official response at this point, but where does this leave the business owner when staff ring in sick to comply with this?
ANZAC Day 2020 - Mondayisation
6 February 2020
While it is a little while away, we have had a few clubs asking about ANZAC Day this year as it falls on a Saturday and is subject to Mondayisation.
Below is a brief overview of the employee entitlements for ANZAC Day 2020, if you require further information please contact Clubs New Zealand on 0800 4 CLUBS or visit the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website at https://www.employment.govt.nz/
Workplace preparedness for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
3 February 2020
Minimising the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace is important to keeping staff safe and well at work. With the coronavirus recently being declared a global emergency many New Zealand businesses will be looking into how they can protect themselves, their workers and their customers. The below information is sourced from the Ministry of Health, the guidance is aimed protecting the workplace from pandemic, including coronavirus as well as other outbreaks such as flu.
Working Well - A workplace Guide to Mental Health
27 January 2020
A number of clubs have recently raised the topic of mental health in the workplace. The Working Well - A Workplace Guide to Mental Health is a great, well informed resource that we recommend clubs take a look at.
Lack of work no barrier to reinstatement
8 January 2020
The Employment Court has granted interim reinstatement to an employee who was dismissed on the grounds of redundancy despite his employer arguing that there was no role for the employee to be reinstated to
Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Limited (Genesys) operates from two offices, one in Auckland and one in Wellington. Mr Scott was employed in April 2014 as a Senior Principal Solutions Consultant, spending 10% of his time working with Auckland and Australia based Account Executives, and 90% of his time with Wellington based Account Executives.
Minimum Wage to rise to $18.90 per hour
18 December 2019
The Government has confirmed that the adult minimum wage will increase from $17.70 to $18.90 on 1 April 2020.
Those on the starting-out and training wages will also see a boost in pay to $15.12 per hour. This rate remains at 80% of the adult minimum wage.
The Christmas bonus: A guide for small business owners
27 November 2019
In the lead up to the festive season, small business owners will be wondering whether or not to offer a Christmas bonus to staff and how large it should be this year.
Despite how challenging the holiday period can be, there’s nothing like being able to spread a little Christmas cheer among the staff that have supported you throughout the year.
But deciding what form an end-of-year reward might take, and how much to spend, can leave business owners scratching their heads.
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.
