IR Updates 2011

Details

Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 March 2019 00:41

Changes from 1 April 2011

Holidays Act

• Leave Cash up
• Average daily pay
• Close Down period
• Transfer of public holidays
  

Employment Relations Act

• Trial period extension
• Personal Grievance fair and reasonable
  

 Holidays Act

The changes to the Holidays Act come into effect on 1 April 2011 and are designed to give both employers and employees greater choice as to how they manage their leave. Workers will be able to cash in up to a week of annual leave every year. However, this can’t be a negotiated term or condition of the employment agreement. Each employee needs to make a request and come to an agreement with their employer before they arrange this.

There’s more flexibility around public holidays. A formula (the Average Daily Pay) will be introduced for calculating leave and holiday entitlements for those whose hours of work or pay vary. This will be available to employers if it’s not possible or practicable to assess their employee’s relevant daily pay or if the employee’s daily pay varies within the pay period.

One change took effect as soon as the legislation was passed in November 2010—the treatment of holidays and leave during a mandatory "closedown" or shutdown period. This means that if your business shuts its doors for a period, such as during Christmas or Easter, then your employees will be entitled to be paid for any public holidays they would otherwise have worked if the business was operating.

Employers will be able to reach agreement with employees to transfer a public holiday to another working day if this better suits both parties. The amendments also allow employers to seek proof from an employee for less than three consecutive calendar days off sick or injured without reasonable grounds to suspect that the sick leave isn’t genuine. The employer needs to let their staff member know that proof is required and also agree to meet any expenses incurred in obtaining it.

Employment Relations Act

There are a number of key changes to this law. One is the extension of the 90-day trial period to all businesses. This is already in place for businesses with fewer than 20 staff but it’s been extended to include all businesses regardless of how many staff are employed.

A number of changes have been made around personal grievances. When considering personal grievance claims, the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court now need to consider whether the actions of the employer were what a fair and reasonable employer "could" have done in all the circumstances of the case. This is known as the test of justification and is intended to recognise a range of fair and reasonable responses that could be made by an employer in any situation.

Changes to the Holidays Act and the Employment Relations Act come into effect on 1 April 2011.