Changes you should be aware of effective 1st July
Friday 3rd July 2020
Petrol Prices are not the only thing that has increased or changed as of 1st July 2020. Here are a few other changes that may be relevant to you and your businesses.
Paid Parental Leave Increases
ECE Teacher Pay Increase
Free Trade and Apprenticeship Training
Paid Parental Leave Increases
Good news for Kiwi parents! Paid Parental Leave entitlement has increased from 22 weeks to 26 weeks from today. Parent’s whose babies are born on or after 1st July 2020 will be eligible for the 26 weeks Paid Parental Leave.
The payment that they receive during this time will also increase by up to $20 per week. This means that the maximum Government payment a parent may receive is now $585.80.
Be aware that this will make it easier for employees to take the full 6-12 months leave.
ECE Teacher Pay Increase
Early Childhood Education Teachers are going to be receiving a wage increase as of 1 July!
Before now, the minimum salary for ECE teachers has been between $45,491 and $46,832, depending on qualifications held. The minimum salary is now $49,862.
Bear in mind, that not only will this potentially affect your pays to your lower paid staff, but you should think about relativity with other teachers’ pay.
Free Trade and Apprenticeship Training
A reminder that, as of today, targeted vocational training courses will be free for all ages. These courses include, but are not limited to, areas in:
- Building and Construction
- Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- Electrical Engineering
- Road Transport
- Community Health
- Counselling
- Care Work
For a more comprehensive list of eligible courses, please go to https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/funding-and-performance/funding/fund-finder/targeted-training-and-apprenticeship-fund/targeted-areas-at-sub-degree-level-covered-by-the-ttaf/
The fund will cover course costs until December 2022.
There is also funding available for the employer in order to assist with paying Apprentice wage costs of incidental training costs. This is the Apprenticeship Support Programme. This will be implemented by August 2020. For more information please go to https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/work/apprentice-support/index.html
If you need any assistance in making sure that you are all set up and complying with any new legislation, please get in touch – we are here to help!
For ongoing help, contact Mike on 027 2808546 and mike@essentialhr.co.nz or Beccy on beccy@essentialhr.co.nz or 027 2909070 – and if you phone our landline 03 659 0377 you can leave a message that gets delivered to us automatically.