Client Update – October 2023 Election 2023 This is an Election 2023 update that contains a summary of employment related policies that, to date, have been promoted or otherwise raised by the main political parties. Polling Day – 14 October 2023 All employees that will be working on election day are entitled to leave […]
Sexual Harassment Amendment Act As highlighted in our May 2023 client update, the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill came into force on 13 June 2023. All new employment agreements must now include a reference to the 12-month period for raising a personal grievance for sexual harassment. Existing […]
Fringe Benefit Tax Exemption Extension From 1 April 2023, employers are exempt from Fringe Benefit Tax when subsidising an employee’s public transport fares for travel by bus, train, ferry or cable car. In addition, employers can now provide self-powered or electric powered bicycles or scooters to employees, and contribute toward “ride-share” schemes which offer self-powered […]
Welcome to our latest update. As an election year it is likely a range of employment policies will be promoted by political parties in their efforts to control the Treasury benches. It is also a busy time for the incumbents. So far this year the income insurance bill has been deferred, work to define who […]
Fair Pay Agreements The Fair Pay Agreement Act was passed into law on 26 October 2022, and took effect from 1 December 2022. It is anticipated that the timeframe for bargaining and finalising a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) will take around 12 months. Fair Pay Agreements are a substantive change to the employment marketplace, and […]
Restraint of Trade Bill Our June 2022 update mentioned the Hon Helen White’s Restraint of Trade Bill. That was recently drawn from the parliamentary ballot. With only around 44 sitting days before Parliament dissolves for the general election in 2023, it remains to be seen if this Bill will advance before then. In short, the […]
COVID-19 Traffic light system removed and Commemoration Day From Tuesday 13 September, the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic light system) has been removed. However, the removal of the traffic light system is not a full return to the pre COVID-19 days. There are some elements of protection that remain which are: Masks are still required in […]
Client Update – June 2022 Finally, we bring you a client update that does not canvass COVID-19 related issues: New whistleblowing legislation The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 comes into force on 1 July 2022. ‘Serious wrongdoing’ now includes behaviour that is a serious risk to the health and safety of any individual. Also, […]
Changes to the COVID-19 Public Health Response Over the past month, several changes to the COVID-19 public health response have taken effect, including moving to the ‘Orange’ light setting of the COVID-19 protection framework, changes to gathering sizes, face mask requirements, vaccination mandates, and the opening of borders to allow international visitors from approved countries […]
COVID-19 Resurgence – Client Update August Outbreak The Government has announced updated support for businesses and the self-employed affected by the current outbreak. Note that MSD will not pay an employer more than one COVID-19 payment for the same employee at the same time. We suggest you consider which MSD payments which you are […]