Employment law stifling small business

Media Release (For immediate release)

Employment law stifling small business

Yesterday the New Zealand Herald published an article by employment-law expert Max Whitehead saying that two thirds of NZ businesses are too scared to employ staff due to our draconian employment laws — causing many comments from online readers, for and against his view.

Mr Whitehead says that 70% of NZ businesses are self-employed Kiwis and most are too scared to employ staff.

Terry McLaughlin, CEO of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants, was recently quote in the Herald as saying that we have too many small businesses in New Zealand and this is restricting our economic growth.

Mr Whitehead says that McLaughlin is right, but we need to examine why this is. “The answer is simple. Our employment laws are too complicated and cost-hungry,” says Mr Whitehead.

Mr Whitehead says that business owners are scared of what will happen if they make a mistake when handling employment issues. Most don’t fully understand employment law as they don’t have the time and resources to keep fully up to date. “The overall impression is that employment law is about employer bashing, leading to employees swaggering around the workplace saying, ‘Step out of line, boss, and I’ll shoot you with a personal grievance,” he says.

Mr Whitehead believes our government has been wooed by unions and big business with the promise of funding and votes at election time. To demonstrate this, the Employment Relations Act, which is the nub of employment law, is 300 plus pages long and 95% of this document is all about unions and big business, which only represent 3% of NZ employers. Mr Whitehead: “Small businesses are responsible for 39% of our GDP. They need a voice. In Australia there is one employment law for small businesses and another for large businesses. It’s time we gave our small businesses a fair go.”

About Whitehead Group:
The Whitehead Group is a leading human resource and employment firm. With more than 20 years experience in human resources in New Zealand and Australia, clients include Auckland City Council, Ports of Auckland, Shell Oil, Feltex Carpets Limited, Nufarm New Zealand and Nuplex Industries. The Whitehead Group specialises in Bargaining/Negotiating, Collective Agreements with unions, Employment Relations, Human Resources, Employment Agreements, Personal Grievances and Employment Law.

ENDS

© Scoop Media