As you will be aware there are legislative changes taking effect from the 1^st of April 2011.

We have included a link to the Department of Labour website and legislation guide at the end of this communication.  We recommend all employers download and save this document for future reference.

Primarily the key changes are as follows:  

• Extension of the Trail Employment Period – the 90 day trial period that has applied for companies with less than 20 employees has now been extended to all businesses. 
• Payment for leave has changed from Relevant Daily Pay to Average Daily Pay. An employer may use the new Average Daily Pay calculation where it is not possible or practicable to determine relevant daily pay, or where the employee’s daily payment varies within the pay period in which the holiday or leave falls.  Average Daily Pay is gross earnings (over last 52 weeks) divided by the number of days worked over that period.
• Employees can apply in writing to have up to one weeks annual leave cashed up (the employer can decline the request).  This will only affect annual holiday entitlements that fall on or after 1 April 2011.
• By agreement Public Holidays can be transferred to another day.
• Taking alternative holidays – Where an employer and employee cannot agree on what day the alternative holiday should be taken, employers now have the final say, on a reasonable basis, as to when an alternative holiday is taken. Employers will be able to give employees 14 days notice of when they require them to take the alternative holiday.
• Asking for proof of sickness or injury.  Employers can request proof of sickness or injury within three consecutive days of an employee taking sick leave. 

Our recommendation is that these changes be communicated to staff via your normal internal communication channels. This will ensure that all employees have been made aware and further detail can be provided to those who request more information.

For more detailed and information please click on the link below.

http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/updates/guide-legislation-changes/guide-er-and-holidays-changes.pdf

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact EQ Consultants.