Major employment law changes take effect tomorrow

Businesses and employees will enjoy greater certainty and flexibility at work with changes to the Holidays and Employment Relations acts due to take effect tomorrow, says Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

“The Government worked hard last year to produce a package of changes that will encourage employers to hire, reduce compliance costs and give employees greater choice with how they take their holidays,” Ms Wilkinson said.

Changes taking place tomorrow include:

• Extending the 90 day trial period to all employers;Giving employees the choice to cash in their fourth week of annual leave, on agreement with their employer;
• Allowing employees to negotiate the transfer of a public holiday to another day;Adjusting the Relevant Daily Pay equation with a new calculation known as Average Daily Pay; and
• Doubling the penalties for breaching the Holidays or Employment Relations acts.

The minister said the changes would boost employer confidence and encourage them to take on more staff.

“They will also bring greater flexibility into the workplace, allowing employees to make decisions on their holidays that suit their personal circumstances," she said.

The unions, however, think differently. The country's largest private sector union has launched a campaign against the 90-day trial period for new employees.

The trial period was previously limited to employers with 20 or fewer staff until a law change last year extended it to all businesses.

The bill was vigorously opposed by unions and the Labour and Greens.

A campaign launched this week by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), which represents 43,000 workers, is demanding employers pledge not to make use of the trial period.

Law changes had also restricted union access, allowed employers to demand medical certificates for a single day of leave, and allowed a fourth week of holiday entitlement to be traded in, the union said.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said hundreds of union delegates and organisers were asking employers to pledge not to use the "unfair" laws, and were putting forward claims for collective agreements that strengthened fairness at work.