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E tū heads to court

22 June, 2016
NEWS RELEASE
Embargoed till 5am June 23

E tū heads to court to oppose appeal against minimum wage for respite carers.

E tū will be in the Court of Appeal today, to oppose an appeal against the minimum wage for respite carers.

The Ministry of Health and the Capital and Coast DHB have appealed against an
Employment Court decision that former respite carer, Jan Lowe, was an employee and entitled to the minimum wage.

Jan’s work involved supporting people with disabilities, such as dementia, and caring for them while family caregivers were away.

She was paid $75.00 for a 24 hour shift by the Ministry of Health on behalf of the Capital and Coast District Health Board. That’s just over $3.00 an hour.

The Employment Court agreed that under the “home worker” definition in the Employment Relations Act, Jan was an employee and was entitled to the minimum wage of $15.25 an hour, holidays and other minimum employment entitlements.

The Ministry of Health has appealed, arguing she was not an employee, but if she was, then they were not the employer.

The Ministry of Health says the case has implications for 30,000 respite carers.

E tū Assistant National Secretary John Ryall said respite carers did an important job in supporting some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders and deserved to be paid the minimum wage.

“Just as court decisions in recent years have led to disability workers and home support workers being paid the minimum wage for sleepovers and travel time, we hope that a successful outcome for Jan Lowe will lead to tens of thousands of respite carers gaining similar entitlements.”

ENDS

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