I believe we will see significant changes to Health and Safety requirements this year (see my July 2013 Update) - and the current proposals include serious increases in levels of fines. In fact if the proposals go ahead maximum fines would increase to 5 or 6 times their current levels.
From 1 April 2014 the minimum adult wage will increase to $14.25 per hour. The starting-out or training minimum wage will increase to $11.40 per hour. These are 3.6% increases, which is more than twice the current level of CPI inflation. The biggest challenge is for companies that operate on small increments between their most junior staff and the next levels up. You need to plan now to maintain internal relativities.
All my Christchurch clients will all be aware of the large increase in rates that are coming through. I understand the average increase will amount to some $150 per annum in rates - very approximately 0.5% of the average wage. Yet you will not see this increase clearly reflected in CPI increases (which are national).
You can read March 2014 Essential Update here
On 1 April the minimum wage rose from $13.75 an hour to $14.25 an hour. Those of you who take a ‘total remuneration approach’ to Kiwisaver will need to ensure that your employees are being paid at least $14.70 per hour which is the minimum wage plus the Employers Kiwisaver contribution of 3%.
ACC have developed cards that identify common site hazards and explain how to deal with them. Each card has an image and basic information on the front; with more detailed information and instructions on the back. Ideal for a toolbox talk obtain these cards from ACC on 0800 844 657 and quote ACC6751.
The Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT) has ordered an employer to release confidential information to an unsuccessful job applicant to help assess whether he was discriminated against on the basis of his age. The detail to be released on the two successful job applicants include CV’s, employment history, qualifications, and whether reference checks were carried out. This was ordered even though the HRRT recognises that discrimination can be difficult to prove and indicated confidentiality should not be used to shield discriminatory acts from investigation.
This Bill is going to introduce the Australian-based legislation that has been promised but from my perspective contains a number of concerns for small businesses. I have submitted a set of recommendations to the Select Committee and have indicated I would like to talk to them. My submission can be found here , and if any of you would like to talk to me about them, especially if you have any views you would like me to put forward in this regard (should I indeed get to talk to them), please let me know.
For any employer keen to help those just starting out, students studying NCEA level 2 upwards may be able to achieve vocational pathways - indicating particular interest/ability in one of six key pathways. This may help show how well they could fit your industry and is worth asking for at interviews or career development sessions. Have a look at this site: and the pathways booklet and Information for Employers booklet issued in March.
The government is proposing an interim measure to remedy a potentially massive problem for businesses in New Zealand off the back of some recent Court rulings. The Minimum Wage Act and accompanying Minimum Wage Order currently indicate that an annual salary cannot be averaged for the purposes of determining whether it is above the Minimum Wage, beyond a week. In a recent case, a Board of Trustees was found to be in breach of the Minimum Wage Act because they did not specifically pay their salaried teachers $14.25 for each hour over 40 that they worked in a week. Essentially, the Court’s ruling dismantles the “swings and roundabouts” principle that underpins the idea of annual salaries and effectively loads extra cost onto every week a worker’s hours exceed 40 - irrespective of the amount of the worker’s annual salary! The Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce has issued a briefing note that describes the problem in detail
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