Waikato Business News July/August 2021

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52 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2021 Immigration - it’s just like a box of chocolates!! We all know that COVID has turned the world upside down and everyone has been impacted one way or another, but the impact on immigration plans and policies, and border movements, has been monumental and life-changing for many migrants, advisers, employers and New Zealanders alike. Last year the situation was dynamic and ever-changing, and demanded substantial and ongoing regulatory intervention to address a myriad of immigration policy settings. We all understood and accepted that this intervention was necessary. We are now well over a year down the track and, with border restrictions remaining, you would think that the situation for migrants and their employers in New Zealand would now be clearer and everyone could plan ahead with some degree of certainty. Alas, this is not the case. Three years ago the Government outlined very significant changes for work visas, and as recently as 22 June confirmed these changes, which required that mandatory employer accreditation would go ahead and be implemented on 1 November. Just three weeks later, on 16 July, the Government announced these changes would be deferred to sometime mid-2022. The Government has announced border exceptions Level 2 586 Victoria Street Hamilton 3204 for teachers, dairy farm managers, vets, agriculture machine operators – but these are “claytons” exceptions as while these people can be issued their visa there are no MIQ spaces to accommodate them, so you will not see any of these muchneeded skills any time soon. Then we have the 10,000 or so migrants already here, and working in skilled employment roles, who have submitted their expressions of interest (EOI) for residence, and who have been waiting well over a year on the Government to resume EOI selections. This much-awaited announcement was scheduled for March 2021, but still no one knows if, when, and on what basis selections will resume. Just this week we know of three medical specialists who have packed their bags and left the country for good as they have no certainty as to their future in New Zealand, and without this security they cannot plan ahead or buy a family home. There are many highly-skilled migrants who will follow them and be lost to NZ. Level 3 50 Manners Street Wellington 6011 07 834 9222 enquiries@pathwaysnz.com pathwaysnz.com Richard Howard Every day employers are telling us how desperate they are for the additional skills needed, just to manage the work on-hand, and the growth opportunities they will be foregoing if they cannot find these skills. They are also having to pay much more to retain and attract the skills they need and this wage inflation is now impacting throughout the economy. The Government and Immigration New Zealand are in the same boat, with their own resource limitations now influencing their ability to determine and implement the forward-looking policies needed to provide migrants and employers with the certainty to plan ahead. As a consequence we are getting either short term “knee-jerk” policies or no policy decisions at all. So, in the immortal words of Forrest Gump “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Immigration policy is starting to look very much the same. 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge A lifetime ago A lifetime ago as a young architect I had the fortune to work with a small practice in Cambridge, UK. Much of the practice’s work was for the colleges, departments and institutes associated with the University of Cambridge. It was a delightful time working amongst - and with - some great people and some important architecture. One of the most notable characteristics of Cambridge is the sense of an intimate small-scale town, despite Cambridge being a city of some 150,000 people. Some of this sense related to relatively dense, but low-scale buildings; most being no more than three or four stories high, some to the compact nature of the town itself, with the Market Square and Corn Exchange as a focus, and lastly an organic street layout originally shaped by the enclosing meandering of the river Cam and primary pathways to nearby villages. Cambridge is certainly a place more easily walked or bicycled around, than driven in. Many footpaths were flagstones with areas of cobbles, the architecture was crafted of carved stone, and the town was peppered with green spaces; great lawns within the cloistered courtyards of the colleges, small pocket parks, and huge paddocks and playing fields preserved within the loop of the Cam, or linking along the opposite riverbank, on the ‘Backs’. Within the town there was the biking and pedestrian hum of university students and Cambridge residents going about their day’s work, and the curious and fascinated tourists walking through the town streets and lanes, admiring the college architecture, gardens and galleries, enjoying the pubs and eateries, and punting the Cam. A mix of enjoying sights, and enjoying activities. I came away from that Cambridge experience with an appreciation and understanding of a number of key placemaking attributes. Perhaps foremost was the sense of responsibility that all those who were making buildings had in their task; to the town and people whose legacy they had inherited, and to the future generations to whom they were bestowing new architectural interventions. As for many towns and cities around the world, consistencies and commonalities in the construction of the architecture - such as the materials (local stone, bricks, slate, copper and lead), the architectural form, purpose (education and research) and motifs (badges, details, craft, sculpture and texture) - built up an overall mosaic that comes together to create Cambridge’s singular identity. At an urban level the importance of 'containment', or boundary and an edge - be it river, a town belt, walled enclosure or park edge - the idea of an identifiable precinct or place became even more apparent in placemaking. A Waikato example of this is how Cambridge's town belt (until very recently) clearly and simply defined the urban township from the surrounding farmlands and rural activities. This containment contrasts to ribbon developments where towns grow outwards along highways and country streets, and the town edge is dissipated. And lastly, it is the personal connection to nature; the variety of parks, riverside walks and trees, and sense of adventure and discovery, that brings delight, repose and places of relaxation to provide a sense of ownership and connection with a place. These placemaking principles are of course common to the many wonderful places we love to visit; whether London, New York, Prague, Vilnius, or Stockholm. While much town change or growth occurs organically over time, on occasion the development and design of a town or city is precipitated by an event (London's 1667 Great Fire) or political decision (the redesign of Paris, from 1850 under Napoleon III and to Haussman's design). So it is timely to celebrate HCC’s recent decision to incentivise more buildings LANDMARKS > BY ANTANAS PROCUTA 4 Cambridge St John’s Lane 2 Stockholm - Old City of substance in the town centre to enhance a cosmopolitan lifestyle and the vibrancy of the central city. But of course this incentivisation involves an understanding of the broader urban context and a collaborative placemaking programme. Such an initiative takes a big vision and intentional design, and this is what will be transformative. With many businesses having vacated the central city and moving to Te Rapa some years ago, the land bereft of buildings and occupation for many years is at a cusp of growing back to make a vital city for the close future. The re-visioning of Hamilton’s CBD is also an important opportunity for the development is to be sustainable in both its implementation and in the living it affords. The buildings and places we’re making, the things we do now - the way we do them, the intent we have behind them - matters, and has a long-lasting, almost irreversible, culture and place-shaping influence on the nature of Hamilton, the Waikato and its towns. Ultimately a building, a piece of architecture, a public place, is the expression of the values, vision, and collaboration of a culture and time, and the aspirations we have for the future. Antanas Procuta is Principal Architect at Hamilton-based PAUA, Procuta Associates Urban + Architecture
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2021 53 Can Covid-19 vaccinations for employees be made mandatory? EMPLOYMENT LAW > BY ERIN BURKE Employment lawyer and director at Practica Legal Email: erin@practicalegal.co.nz phone: 027 459 3375 The Ministry of Health’s research on potential uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination (in April 2021) showed that there were still 12 percent of the New Zealand population over age 16 who were unlikely to get vaccinated, of which 7.8 percent were actively opposed to it. Potentially, this means approximately one out of every 10 employees will remain unvaccinated. In answer to the question of whether an employer can make vaccination mandatory, the short response is, no. Section 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA) gives every New Zealander the right to refuse medical treatment. However, whether an employer can make an offer of employment or continued employment contingent on vaccination is another, significantly more complex matter and largely depends on assessing the role the employee will be/is performing, the risk of exposure to Covid-19 of that role and the potential consequences on others that would result from that exposure. The COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021, came into force on 14 July. The Order requires workers performing certain highrisk roles to be vaccinated, and includes border workers, managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) employees and certain roles that handle items from MIQs, aircraft and ships. This Order enables an employer to legally require employees to be vaccinated when performing these specified roles. However, for the rest of the workforce, the requirement to be vaccinated will largely depend on the role they are performing. For example, Employee A is a care worker in a rest home. Due to the physical nature of the job, social distancing is almost impossible and the consequences of contracting Covid-19 and working with vulnerable, elderly residents could be catastrophic. It would be very unwise for any employer to try to impose vaccination on its employees, if they are not performing roles assessed as requiring employees to be vaccinated. Employee B, on the other hand, works at a checkout in a supermarket. Social distancing is possible, given the screens most supermarkets still have in place, and there is nothing to suggest that this person is at a greater risk of exposure to Covid-19 than anyone else working in the retail sector. Employee A’s role could justifiably require only vaccinated employees to perform it, whereas Employee B’s role does not. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) imposes significant obligations on employers and employees to ensure the identification, elimination and/ or management of workplace hazards as far as is “reasonably practicable.” The latter term requires consideration of the likelihood of the risk, the degree of harm that might result, the potential ways the risk can be managed and the costs of managing the risk, which should not be grossly disproportionate to the actual risk itself. WorkSafe-issued guidelines on assessing whether individual roles can only be performed by vaccinated employees are available on their website and weigh up, among other things, whether the role poses an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19, and whether the role involves regular contact with vulnerable people (such as those with disabilities and the elderly). Once a full assessment has been conducted and a role is found to be a role that requires an employee to be vaccinated, then a number of employment processes and procedures need to commence in relation to existing employees. These are the usual processes employed when making decisions that may impact on the continuation of an employee’s employment. In a nutshell, employees need to be informed of the proposal (including the reasons) that they need to be vaccinated, given the opportunity to comment/provide feedback on the proposal and need to be informed of the possibility that their employment may be terminated if they refuse to get vaccinated and there are no other suitable redeployment options available to them. It would be very unwise for any employer to try to impose vaccination on its employees, if they are not performing roles assessed as requiring employees to be vaccinated. In addition to the s 11 NZBORA right to refuse medical treatment, employees/potential employees who are refusing vaccination due to religious beliefs or disabilities could claim that the refusal to offer them a role, or the proposed termination of their employment, constitutes discrimination on a prohibited ground pursuant to the Human Rights Act 1993 (HRA). Under the HRA, accommodation for different religious beliefs and those with disabilities must be provided, if it does not cause unreasonable disruption and risk to the business. In addition to the relevant legislation referred to above, the Privacy Act 2020 also needs to be considered. Enquiring into an employee/potential employee’s vaccination status would only be deemed justifiable if the role has been correctly assessed as high risk, requiring the employees performing the role to be vaccinated. Where an employee/potential employee refuses to disclose their vaccination status, and the role requires the employee to be vaccinated, then the employer should indicate that the refusal to disclose is being read by the employer that the employee is not vaccinated, and the employee must be informed that the potential outcome of that assumption is termination of the employment relationship or a refusal to offer employment. Business events lead Waikato’s social and economic recovery The latest figures released by the Business Events Data Programme show the Waikato region secured 13 percent market share of all NZ business events being held in Q1 2021. With 196 business events held in the region during January-March 2021, this placed the Waikato region second in the country behind Wellington at 29 percent for the number of business events held. Over 17,000 delegates were hosted in the region during this time, equating to a 13 percent market share of the total number of delegates hosted in the country, third behind Wellington (28 percent) and Auckland (14 percent). Hamilton & Waikato Tourism chief executive Jason Dawson says it’s fantastic to see such a strong result for the region given the tough environment the sector has been operating in over the last 18 months. “These figures show the region is in high demand with meeting and conference organisers and highlights the strength of our business events offering in Hamilton and the wider region – from our world-class venues and exceptional event hosts to our exclusive team-building and incentive activities along with a wide range of accommodation offerings,” he says. Dawson add that hosting major and business events are crucial in leading the economic and social recovery of the Waikato region. “Domestic business events delegates have always been an important visitor segment for the region contributing $480 per day to the economy, double the amount of the leisure visitor. Business events are also a key seed market driving repeat visitation and further economic benefit as delegates will often return for a holiday with their friends or family,” he says. Mel Williams, Business Development & Sales Manager – Business Events for H3 says they have been working extremely hard with local partners to help boost awareness, confidence, business and events into our city and region throughout what has been a challenging time. “It’s been fantastic and extremely rewarding for us to have helped so much come to fruition, and to see the It’s been fantastic and extremely rewarding for us to have helped so much come to fruition, and to see the positive, wide-ranging ripple effects and impact that has been felt by so many. positive, wide-ranging ripple effects and impact that has been felt by so many. This has further energised our team to continue proudly wave the flag for our region, and further enhance our reputation nationally,” she says. Note: The Business Events Data Programme measures business event activity in New Zealand. It focuses on MICE events (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) attended by at least 30 people. The programme is funded by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), the Regional Convention Bureaux and MBIE.
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