Source: Business Canterbury
Business Canterbury welcomes today’s announcement by Workplace Relations Minister, Hon Brooke van Velden that the Government will be starting from scratch and completely rewriting the Holidays Act.
Business Canterbury Chief Executive, Leeann Watson says, “The Holidays Act has long been one of the biggest compliance pain points for businesses, often requiring an advanced calculus degree to navigate when working out what leave is owed to staff, and change is well overdue.”
“Complex leave calculations are particularly frustrating for Canterbury’s largest sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality and retail, where a larger proportion of the workforce are on casual or part-time hours.
“A focus on simplicity in the new Act, along with ensuring it is more fit for purpose for the changing way in which people now work, will be welcomed. So will a renewed focus on an hours-based accruals system, making it much easier for businesses to calculate leave and comply with the law.
“The potential for the new Act to offer more flexibility through pay-as-you earn models and other proposed payment methods show the Government is open to listening to employers and enabling systems that best suit them and the workforce.
“This is not the first promise of Holidays Act reform, with ongoing reviews but no outcomes since 2019, with major issues being well understood by successive Governments’ since 2012. We hope to see quick progress on this issue given the impact it has had over many years.
“We will be continuing to engage with the Government as they develop the new Holidays Act around simplicity and flexibility and hope the new legislation can be introduced to Parliament before the end of this term as promised today.”
About Business Canterbury
Business Canterbury, formerly Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, is the largest business support agency in the South Island and advocates on behalf of its members for an environment more favourable to innovation, productivity and sustainable growth.
