To help you understand your obligations as an employer after the recent earthquake we have provided you relevant information the Department of Labour has produced. If you have any questions or concerns and employment issues during this challenging time please feel free to contact EQ Consultants for further advice.
After the Earthquake – Department of Labour Advice
As the clean up continues and more businesses look to return to operation following last Saturday’s earthquake in Canterbury, there is a range of health and safety and employment relations issues that employers and employees may be considering.
The advice here is designed to help businesses and their employees make good, safe, sensible and practical decisions in this difficult time.
1) HEALTH AND SAFETY
Don’t rush in. Stand back and make a sensible, safe plan for re-opening your workplace. Here’s a basic checklist of things you should consider before you open your workplace door:
If you don’t have the expertise to check these things in-house, get an expert in to assist you
- Check for basic building structural stability
- Note the City Council classifications: red placards for no entry, yellow for restricted use and green for no restrictions on a building’s use.
- Check for basic sanitation, eg running contamination free water.
- Check that toilets are working.
- Check that emergency egress and support equipment hasn’t been compromised.
- Check for live electrical cables, or gas leaks.
- Check the integrity of the water and sewage lines.
- Check for unstable stock, equipment or machinery inside the building.
- Check for chemical spills.
- Check security issues – refer to the NZ Police or your security firm if you have concerns.
- A full hazard identification should be made and plans to eliminate, isolate and minimise hazards where practicable.
- Remember it is quite likely there are new and unusual hazards in your place of work that didn’t exist last Friday. Your current hazard register should be considered inadequate.
Recognise that the RIGHT DECISION is the SAFE DECISION
Make yourself aware of any requirements of the authorities (Civil Defence, regional and local authorities etc) and act in accordance with those requirements
As a business owner or manager, the Health and Safety in Employment Act requires you to provide a safe workplace for your employees, contractors you might engage and others who might be entering your premises, eg shoppers.
Employees also have a responsibility to ensure their own safety.
2) EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS MATTERS
- The key is communication. This is an unusual situation, and much of it is probably not covered by employment agreements. It is very important that employers and employees are talking to each other.
- Be flexible. This is a time for employers and employees to be understanding and to take a commonsense approach to getting business up and running again.
- If employers are asking employees to do work they don’t normally do (for example, clean-up work), both sides need to ensure they’re comfortable with this, and safety must be top priority.
- People may want to focus on family rather than work.
- Working with staff health and safety representatives and union representatives will be of assistance in some work places.
- Work together to find practical solutions.
- Recognise that this has been a significant event.
- People will react differently in the aftermath- some may need extra support.
- Many will want to focus on caring for their family/whänau.
- Others will be best supported by assisting to get things up and running.
- An individual employee has the right to refuse to do work they consider unsafe. Discuss the work and the concerns before it gets to this point. If you have decided it is safe share your knowledge and reasoning with staff alongside the decision
Additional Information:
Who decides if workers have to go to work if it is open?
Employers and employees should talk to each other about what is happening with the workplace. Discuss and reach an appropriate agreement.
If a staff member needs to stay home to look after their family – how does that work?
Both parties should take a practical approach to this situation. Employers should discuss the employee’s needs in these circumstances, recognising the unique nature of the event, the disruption it has caused and the need for flexibility.
Whose responsibility is it to ensure the workplace is safe?
This is the responsibility of the employer under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. The employer may need to obtain expert information to ensure safety and /or reassure employees of workplace safety.
Your staff can’t get into work today for good reason. Does the employer have to pay? Work was closed yesterday. Does the employer have to pay wages for that day?
The earthquake caused a range of damage to businesses in the Canterbury region and it may take time for workplaces to be able to reopen. Employees and employees should be talking to each other about pragmatic solutions to help recovery. While generally wages are payable if the employee is able and willing to perform work and work is available, what this means in each individual circumstance is likely to differ.
An employer and employee should look to their employment agreement to see if there are options available during the recovery. It may be that alternatives such as working from home are available. Employees and employers may also agree to temporary arrangements that are additional to or different from their current employment agreement if they think this will be of benefit.
The Holidays Act provisions may be applicable also. An employee can take sick leave if they, their partner, or their dependents are injured or sick and the employee has sick leave available. An employer can also require an employee to take annual leave if the both of you cannot reach agreement as to when the leave will be taken and the employer gives the employee at least 14 days’ notice. This only applies to annual leave that the employee is entitled to on each anniversary of the date they commenced employment. If an employee refuses to take annual leave on less than 14 days’ notice an employer cannot require them to.
It may be that the employer’s business is unable to keep operating, closes permanently, and employment is terminated. In these circumstances, employers may need to consider making staff redundant. In that case, the procedures on consultation, good faith and other relevant matters in the Employment Relations Act apply along with other employment agreement obligations. It is important to get advice at this point including on any financial assistance that may be provided in the context of the earthquake damage.
In all situations, whether the business is likely to recover, or has to shut permanently, any changes to the employment agreement covering wage payments or redundancy need to be agreed to by both the employer and the employee before implementation.
There may be financial assistance that Work and Income can offer in hardship circumstances, including recently announced support for small businesses and their employees. Work and Income can be contacted on 0800 779 997 or www.dol.govt.nz/quake2010/.
