Proposals For A New Holidays Act
Labour Minister Hon Margaret Wilson said today that the Government is proposing key changes to holidays legislation after a report on the current legislation from a joint union-employer advisory group indicated a need for a clearer legislative framework.
The Government’s proposals aim to simplify what has been a complex and difficult area of employment law.
They contain major proposals including the requirement that all employees who agree to work on any of the 11 statutory public holidays receive payment at the rate of time and a half for their work, as well as a day in lieu.
“The objectives of public holidays are to provide for the common observance of days of national, religious or cultural significance,” Margaret Wilson said.
The new legislation introduced to Parliament would retain the current provision for three weeks annual leave. The Alliance would be free to move an amendment to the legislation providing for four weeks annual leave.
Under the current proposals the ability for annual leave entitlements to be provided on a “pay as you go” basis will be applied to employment agreements of less than 12 months, where the employee has specifically agreed to such a provision and the holiday pay is clearly identified in the wages.
“Special leave” entitlements have also been strengthened in order to provide support when employees are unable to work because they are sick, someone who depends upon them is sick, or they have suffered a bereavement. There would be separate entitlements for sick and domestic leave and bereavement leave.
It is proposed there would be provision for five days sick and domestic leave which may be accumulated to a maximum of 15 days. There will be a two tiered entitlement to bereavement leave of three days for a close relative and of one day where the employer accepts that the employee has suffered a bereavement.
“Measures such as removing the separate framework for factories and undertakings, and providing that payment and day in lieu entitlements for all statutory holidays will be treated in the same way, would give greater certainty in the legislation,” Margaret Wilson said.
It is proposed that breaches of the new legislation would incur increased maximum penalties of $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a company or corporation, with the maximum penalty for a continuing offence increasing to $1,000 for every day that the offence continued.
Margaret Wilson is inviting Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions, both members of the joint union-employer advisory group, to meet with Department of Labour officials in order to discuss the detail of the new Act.
Margaret Wilson said that “While I am pleased the key issues have been agreed on, there are still technical issues to be worked through. It is important in an area as complex as this, that both the Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand are involved throughout the preparation of the draft legislation”.
Ends
Additional Information
The key
objectives of the new Holidays Act are for:
annual holidays to provide paid time off to employees for
rest and recreation;
public holidays to provide
for the common observance of days of national, religious or
cultural significance; and
special leave to
provide “insurance” when employees are unable to work
because they, or someone in their immediate family, is sick
or injured, or they have suffered a bereavement.
The Government has made key decisions around each of these objectives:
Annual Holidays
1. 3 weeks annual holidays
upon the completion of 12 months continuous employment (NB:
the Alliance intends to move an amendment that this
entitlement be 4 weeks)
2. at least 2 weeks of an
employee’s annual holidays should be taken in one
uninterrupted period
3. the entitlement to annual
holidays remains in force until they are taken and the onus
should remain on the employer to ensure that an employee
takes annual holidays
4. in the first instance, timing of
annual holidays should be by agreement between and employer
and employee
5. to continue the current provisions that
allow an employer to closedown its business and require
employees to take annual holidays at that time, but only for
one closedown a year
6. the calculation of annual holiday
pay should be simplified
7. “pay as you go” annual
holiday pay (where an employee receives a payment for annual
holiday pay with each salary or wages payment) should only
be permitted where the employee’s employment agreement is
for a period of less than 12 months and the employee has
agreed to this in writing, and where the holiday pay is an
identifiable component of the wages
Public Holidays
1.
all employees should continue to get 11 pubic holidays if
they are days they normally work
2. all employees
should be paid rate and a half for working on a public
holiday (an employment agreement cannot provide for a lower
rate of pay), as well as a day in lieu
3. the separate
provisions for rate of pay for working on a public holiday
in factories and undertakings should be removed
4. an
employee cannot be compelled to work on a public holiday
unless it is a term of their employment agreement
5.
payment and day in lieu entitlements for Waitangi and ANZAC
Days should be consistent with the other public holidays
6. where Christmas and New Year public holidays fall on
or over a weekend, they should be transferred based on the
working week of the employee (i.e. transferred for employees
who do not normally work on the weekend, and observed where
they fall for employees who do not normally work on the
weekend)
Special Leave
1. special leave should be split
into two separate entitlements, one to sick and domestic
leave, and the other to bereavement leave
2. an employee
should be entitled to all types of special leave upon the
completion of 6 months continuous employment
3. the
entitlement to sick and domestic leave should be 5 days per
year and may be accumulated to a maximum of 15 days
4.
the entitlement to bereavement leave applies per bereavement
and should be a two-tiered entitlement of:
3
days upon the death of an employee’s spouse/partner, parent,
child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild or spouse/partner’s
parent; and
1 day on any other occasion where
the employer accepts the employee has suffered a bereavement
and taking into account cultural
requirements
Enforcement
1. the current level of
penalties should be increased to a maximum of $5,000 for an
individual and $10,000 for a company or corporation
2.
the penalty for a continuing offence should be increased to
a maximum of $1,000 for every day that the offence
continues