Source: New Zealand Government
A much-anticipated Bill to ensure employees are paid correctly when taking time off work has just passed its first reading at Parliament, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced today.
The Employment Leave Bill seeks to replace the Holidays Act 2003 and offers a simple, workable framework that gives businesses certainty, reduces potential error, and fixes what matters for employers and workers.
“The Holidays Act is complex, confusing, and has led to huge remediation costs.
The Employment Leave Bill will bring simplicity and logic to the way employment leave is calculated, which benefits businesses by saving them time and money when calculating their payroll obligations, and prevents headaches for both employers and employees from getting payments wrong,” Ms van Velden says.
“This Bill responds directly to what I’ve heard since coming into office: businesses are overwhelmed by compliance, and workers are missing out on entitlements.”
“I aim to strike a balance with this legislation. Businesses will benefit from the shift to hours-based accrual and pro-rata sick leave. Workers will benefit from having access to leave entitlements from day one, increased upfront pay for many casual employees instead of accruing annual and sick leave, and full pay for annual leave when parents return from parental leave.
“Since announcing Cabinet’s policy decisions last year, I have travelled around the country to get feedback from a range of sectors including payroll experts and lawyers to help shape the Bill in its current state. I have been heartened to hear genuine excitement that we have reached this point and that change is finally coming.”
“I am proud of the significant progress made already to have legislation ready and available for public feedback – a milestone successive Ministers tried but failed to reach. I especially encourage people with technical expertise to make a submission and help ensure this legislation is workable for decades to come.”
