Waikato Business News April/May 2019

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2019
Important employment law changes
Employment law legislation changes are
not the most exciting topic of conversation;
however, in April and May there are number
of changes that every employer needs to
have on their radar.
From May 6, trial periods
will revert to the pre-
2011 position, and can
only be used by employers
with fewer than 20 employers,
at the time an individual
employment agreement
(IEA) is entered into. If an
employee enters an IEA with
a trial period at a time when
an employer employs fewer
than 20 employees, but this
changes during an employee’s
trial period, it will still be
valid.
Section 67A of the
Employment Relations Act
2000 sets out the mandatory
inclusions a trial period must
have to be valid. These inclusions
are that a trial provision
must be a written provision
in an employment agreement
that states, or is to the effect,
that for a specified period (not
exceeding 90 days), starting
at the beginning of the
employee’s employment, the
employee is to serve a trial
period. The provision must
also state when the trial period
begins (usually on the first
day of employment) and must
also state that if an employee
is dismissed during a trial
period, then they cannot take a
personal grievance for unjustified
dismissal.
Employers are also
reminded that, for a trial period
to be valid, the IEA containing
the trial period must be signed
by the employee before the
employee’s first day of work.
The Domestic Violence
Victim Protection Act 2018
came into effect on April 1.
This legislation now entitles
EMPLOYMENT LAW
> BY ERIN BURKE
Employment lawyer and director at Practica Legal
Email: erin@practicalegal.co.nz phone: 027 459 3375
employees who are affected
by domestic violence to take
up to 10 days’ leave per year,
in addition to existing sick
leave and annual leave they
are already entitled to.
Employees affected by
domestic violence will also
be entitled to request a shortterm
variation to their working
arrangements for a period
of up to two months, and an
employer must respond to this
request within 10 working
days. The legislation expressly
prohibits an employee from
being treated adversely in
the workplace if they are, or
are suspected to be, a person
affected by domestic violence.
Another change affecting
employers is that, from
April 1, employers will need
to file payroll information
for every employee with the
Inland Revenue Department,
within two days of every payday.
Previously, employers
could file monthly, even if
employees were paid weekly
or fortnightly. If some of an
employer’s employees are
paid monthly, and some are
paid weekly, the employer
will still need to file within
two days from the payday for
each employee.
From April 1, the minimum
wage increased from $16.50
per hour to $17.70, with the
starting-out and training rates
increasing from $13.20 to
$14.16 per hour (80 percent of
the minimum wage). This is
part of the Government’s plan
to have the minimum wage
reach $20 per hour by April
2021.
From December 12,
changes to the Act further
reverted to the pre-2015 rules
on union access, including the
right for union representatives
to enter the workplace without
consent (provided employees
are on a collective agreement
or one is being worked
towards), and pay deductions
can no longer be made for
employees engaged in partial
strikes (such as wearing
t-shirts instead of uniforms
as part of low-level industrial
action).
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Employers need to ensure
they keep abreast of important
legislative changes in employment
law, to ensure compliance
and avoid legal action.
It was a colourful occasion when Parkhaven’s
opening was held in central Hamilton
1. Guest speaker Jen Baird,
Hamilton City Council general
manager city growth.
2. BCD director Blair Currie,
centre, Ross Pacey – Foster
Construction, left, and Robert
Dol – Greenstone Group, right.
3. Mayor Andrew King, centre,
and Richard Kingsford – WEL
Networks, left.
4. BCD director Jonathan Brown.
5. BCD Hamilton office manager
Sam Simpson.
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