Especially given the current economic environment, many workers can become desperate for work. In particular, we have seen the tourism and hospitality sectors continue to suffer considerably from the effects of our border closure. In such an environment, prospective employees are often asked to undertake a period of work observation, or work trial. It is important for employers to ensure that any such [...]
The full bench of the Employment Court in Metropolitan Glass & Glazing Limited v Labour Inspector recently assessed whether certain discretionary incentive payments form part of an employee’s gross earnings under the Holidays Act (“Act”). The meaning of ‘gross earnings’ underlies a number of calculations under the Holidays Act. As such, it is vital to ensure that ‘gross earnings’ is calculated correctly, as it [...]
Policies, laws need to catch up with Covid world, say experts. By Nicola Shepheard Wed, 15 Jul 2020 A growing portion of Mike Treen’s work these days involves helping newly redundant workers navigate the byzantine and often perverse intricacies of welfare support. Treen, Unite Union national director, said that although the full Covid-19 income relief payment is more than double the basic adult jobseeker [...]
Yesterday, Thursday 14 May 2020, the Government announced an extension to the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy, as part of its $50b COVID-19 recovery budget. In this article, we outline the eligibility requirements employers must meet to apply for the Wage Subsidy extension, and what entitlements they could receive. Wage Subsidy extension The Wage Subsidy extension will be available from 10 June 2020 until 1 [...]
An outline of eligibility requirements and entitlements With the current economic landscape, employers need to ensure that they remain up to date with subsidies that are available to them. Of note is the Leave Support Scheme, which as of 1 May 2020, is available for essential and non-essential employers that meet the criteria. This payment was formerly called the ‘Essential Workers Leave Support’, [...]
With the recent move to level 3, and impending level 2, more and more employees will be returning to their place of work. For many of these employees, gone are the days of extended periods of leave or working from home. With the Prime Minister’s announcement on level 2 scheduled for Monday, the earliest we could see level 2 is after 11:59pm on [...]
Since the Wage Subsidy was first introduced on 13 March 2020, the Government has refined and clarified aspects of the Wage Subsidy as we see it operate in practice. The latest Government update has confirmed something that we have known since its inception, that the Wage Subsidy does not override any rights or obligations arising out of employment law or an employment agreement. [...]
Earlier today, the Government declared a state of national emergency, pursuant to its powers under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. This is in addition to the Government ordering the close down for all non-essential businesses and services for a period of 4 weeks commencing on 11.59pm Wednesday, 25 March 2020. With these developments in mind, employers will naturally be wondering what their [...]
What is happening? Fears regarding the ripple effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), notably the potential for a recession and rising unemployment, have become a real concern in New Zealand. Particularly, as new unprecedented travel restrictions were recently put in place, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. These came into effect on Monday 16th March at 1am. Any person from any country, excluding the [...]