Tanya Gray | ConsultingHQ

Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 – a big change coming to NZ employers

by Tanya Gray | Nov 8, 2022 | Legal Compliance, Salaries & wages

Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 – a big change coming to NZ employers

Contents

What is a fair pay agreement?
Who will this cover?
What are the various viewpoints about FPAs?
If a business is covered by an FPA, what will it involve?
What should an employer do now?

The Government passed the Fair Pay Agreements Act on 26 October which means that applications to initiate bargaining can be made from 1 December 2022. It’s estimated that the process from bargaining to a finalised Fair Pay Agreement (an FPA) could take around a year.

What is a fair pay agreement?

A fair pay agreement or FPA is an agreement that applies to all workers across entire industries or occupations. It will provide minimum terms and conditions of employment for an industry as a whole, regardless of specific employers.

There are various matters that a fair pay agreement must cover. These are:

when the agreement will come into force and when it expires;
the coverage of the agreement;
normal hours of work;
details of wages, including minimum base wage rates, overtime, and penalty rates;
arrangements for training and development;
leave entitlements;
governance arrangements; and
an agreed process for varying the terms of the agreement

Parties will also be required to discuss (but not required to agree on) other matters including:

the objectives of the proposed agreement;
health and safety requirements;
arrangements relating to flexible working; and
arrangements relating to any redundancy.

The fair pay agreement must apply for a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years.

Who will this cover?

The FPA Act enables any eligible union to initiate bargaining for a FPA if it meets either a representation test or a public interest test.

The representation test is met if at least 1,000 employees or 10% of the employees who would be within the coverage of the proposed FPA support the application to initiate bargaining for the proposed FPA.

The public interest test is met if employees who would be within the coverage of the proposed FPA receive low pay for their work and meet one or more of the following criteria:

they have little bargaining power in their employment;
they have a lack of pay progression in their employment (for example, pay rates only increase to comply with minimum wage requirements);
they are not adequately paid, taking into account factors such as working long or unsocial hours (for example, working weekends, night shifts, or split shifts), and contractual uncertainty, including performing short-term seasonal work or working on an intermittent or irregular basis.

All employers of covered employees will be included in the FPA. For negotiation, the employers will be represented by an organisation; they will not be choosing one employer in an industry to negotiate on behalf of all employers in that industry.

An FPA may cover, and provide different entitlements for, different classes of employees, such as those who would be covered by a starting-out wage or a training wage. The agreement can also have different classes depending on the type of role, or the location of the employee.

In the future, if the legislation remains in place, a FPA could cover anyone who is an employee, and there is a possibility that the majority of New Zealand workers could eventually be covered by one. However, while there is no prohibition on any particular occupations creating a FPA, the legislation is geared toward low paid industries.

What are the various viewpoints about FPAs?

The government sees the system as a necessary correction to 30 years without sector-based bargaining, which it believes has had a negative impact on productivity and helped to increase inequality across the country by way of a shrinking share of the country’s earnings trickling down to workers. This legislation completes a key Labour Government 2020 election commitment.

Union officials have said it will be especially significant for low waged workers but also good for the industries that employ them as a whole, as it will make them more attractive workplaces for recruiting staff and retaining them.

Some employee groups and business associations have roundly criticised FPAs and both National and Act have made it their priority to repeal the legislation if they make it into government in the 2023 elections.

If a business is covered by an FPA, what will it involve?

An employer must provide employees with information about the FPA including how to contact and join the union if asked by the union
Provide contact details of the covered employees to the union unless employees’ object
The employer bargaining side must use its best endeavours to represent all employers and to act in good faith. Best endeavours are not defined but will almost certainly include a requirement to inform all affected employers, especially Māori employers

What should an employer do now?

Employers should start thinking about whether there is an association who may be able to represent them if FPA bargaining is initiated in respect of their employees, and which other employers may need to be involved. Employer groups who lack representation do face the very real possibility of terms being imposed on them by the Employment Relations Authority within a relatively short space of time, even though it is expected that it will take about a year for a FPA to be in place after bargaining commences.

The full details of the Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 can be found on the New Zealand Legislation website and further information on the Employment New Zealand website.

If you have any questions about fair pay agreements, or employment agreements generally, please contact a member of the ConsultingHQ team.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Are you drowning In HR documentation?

by Tanya Gray | Oct 19, 2022 | HR Documentation, HR Software, New Blog

Are you drowning in HR documentation? Here’s your solution…

Contents

How do you even keep track of so many HR documents?
Here’s your solution: EMS Hub – HR software that puts you back in control

As a business grows in size, it also grows in complexity. That means more staff, more admin, more documentation – and more HR headaches.

Just think – for every employee, you need to keep track of:

Employment agreements and offer letters.
Emergency contact details.
Pre-employment documentation, such as DISC profiles, psychometric testing, ACC screening, drug and alcohol screening.
COVID-19 records.
Induction documentation relevant to each role.
Any temporary or permanent variations to hours or pay.
Performance review and remuneration review information.
Leave requests.
Absenteeism issues, disciplinary issues, and other challenges with employee conduct.
90-day trial check-ins.
Training records, training plans, and when any certification expires.
Exit interview information.

That’s dozens and dozens of documents – for each and every employee. And they all need to be perfectly filed so they’re accessible at a moment’s notice.

How do you even keep track of so many HR documents?

Not only are there vast numbers of documents to manage, but they all need to be stored securely as they contain sensitive personal information.

Manually filing all these documents, or keeping track of information in spreadsheets, no longer cuts it when your business reaches a certain size.

What’s more, it’s not practical to rely on one person’s knowledge to be able to access these documents. What happens if your HR manager is away, and there’s an emergency?

There are additional challenges if your organisation is spread across multiple sites, or you have staff working remotely.

Here’s your solution: EMS Hub – HR software that puts you back in control

EMS Hub is HR software that’s been designed by our team of HR professionals at ConsultingHQ. We’ve been working first hand with SME businesses for over 25 years, and understand the challenges you’re up against. EMS Hub software stands for Employee Management Solutions. It’s designed for SME business owners, as well as HR professionals, to put hours back in your day and automate key processes. As well as saving a huge amount of admin time and hassle, there are also tools to boost employee engagement and productivity.

And because EMS Hub is cloud based, it’s accessible from wherever you are. It’s secure – and even has powerful reporting features built in, to give you insights like never before. Find out more about EMS Hub.

Next step: book a live demo of EMS Hub

Curious to find out more about EMS Hub? Wondering what it could do for your organisation? Arrange a live demo with Tanya at ConsultingHQ.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Announcing: EMS Hub – Timesaving HR software

by Tanya Gray | Oct 17, 2022 | HR Software, New Blog

Announcing: EMS Hub – timesaving HR software

Contents

Introducing EMS Hub – HR software developed by our HR consultants
Software overview

HR has never been more complex – or so time consuming. There’s just so much documentation to store and manage. And as your business grows, so does the complexity of your HR systems. All those documents!

Since ConsultingHQ’s Director, Tanya Gray, started working in this industry 25 years ago, she has seen how much more complicated HR processes have become over the years. Employment laws have become more complex, and therefore the documentation needs have snowballed.

Introducing EMS Hub – HR software developed by our HR consultants

EMS Hub stands for Employee Management Solutions, It covers virtually every HR process a business can encounter, from recruitment right through to offboarding – and everything in between.

EMS Hub is designed to save you time and stress – so you can get on with growing your business.

As well as nuts-and-bolts HR tools, there are features that are designed to boost employee engagement and morale, with the goal of improving your organisation’s productivity and staff retention rates. This could translate into direct benefits for your company’s bottom line – as well as saving time and stress.

Here’s an overview of the modules within EMS Hub:

1. Recruitment

3. Employee Record Management

2. Documentation &
Compliance

4. People Management Toolkit

5. Offboarding

6. Employee Issue Management

Book a demo

Software overview

Here’s a quick look at each module in EMS Hub – and they’re all fully customisable to your needs.

1. Recruitment

Keep track of recruitment documentation and systemise your workflow to save time. Rate and evaluate applicants to focus on recruiting the best candidate for the job. Find out more

2. Documentation & Compliance

Streamline your documentation and compliance needs, including the onboarding process for new employees, performance reviews, and salary reviews. Built in benchmarking and reporting tools. Find out more

3. Employee Record Management

The easy way to store employee medical records and emergency contacts, as well as managing leave requests and calculations. With employee self-service portal and payroll integration. Find out more

4. People Management Toolkit

All-in-one toolkit for HR performance evaluations and staff training records. Also has survey functionality and is a central repository for all your health and safety records. Find out more

5. Offboarding

Fully automated offboarding module helps you retain staff knowledge, manage risk around confidentiality and restraints of trade, and include exit survey process and surveys. Find out more

6. Employee Issue Management

Manage performance problems, restructures, terminations and other employee issues – and our HR experts at ConsultingHQ are on hand to guide you with personalised advice. Find out more

Next step: book a live demo of EMS Hub

Curious to find out more about EMS Hub? Wondering what it could do for your organisation? Arrange a live demo with Tanya at ConsultingHQ.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

How to prevent errors in accredited employer applications

by Tanya Gray | Sep 15, 2022 | Accreditation

How to prevent errors in your accredited employer applications

Contents

How is the process working out in practice so far?
What are the most common errors in job check applications?
Check that you can tick these off before you apply for a job check

NZ employers will be relieved to hear that applications are now open for the new Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme!

The new process involves successfully completing three steps before an employer can hire a migrant worker on a temporary AEWV:

The business needs to apply for accredited employer status.
Once approved, the employer needs to apply for job check(s).
Once that’s successful, the offer of employment can be made, and the migrant worker can submit their application for their AEWV.

How is the process working out in practice so far?

Immigration New Zealand estimates it’s taking about 10 working days for most employer accreditation applications to be processed, and the same period for the processing of complete job check applications.

However, they’ve identified some errors that are coming up repeatedly in job check applications – and this causes delays in their ability to process applications within the 10-day timeframe.

So if you’re in a hurry to recruit migrant workers, it’s well worth taking the time to ensure your applications meet the requirements.

What are the most common errors in job check applications?

A large number of the errors in job check applications relate to employment agreements. Specifically, information is missing or insufficiently detailed, such as:

A detailed job description.
Locations of work (all).
The minimum and maximum number of hours the employee may be asked to work, including any hours paid at overtime rates, if applicable. If this isn’t applicable, the employment agreement will need to state this.
The guaranteed hours of work, and what they will actually be paid.

Important: Even employment agreements for salaried employees who don’t get overtime rates, these still have to detail the minimum and maximum hours worked.

Check that you can tick these off before you apply for a job check

You have received accreditation approval from INZ to hire on the AEWV.
Your job offer is an acceptable one, i.e. it has a job description and proposed employment agreement.
Evidence that you have advertised if the job pays less than twice the median wage or is not on the Green List.
You have the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code that best matches the job you are offering based on the INZ view of ANZSCO.

You can include multiple vacancies in one job check if the job details are the same, and they are covered by the same advertising and employment agreement.

It’s important to note though that if the location, job title, or terms of work vary at all, you will need a separate job check for each role.

Need some help or advice around accredited employer applications and job checks?

If you’d like to have a chat about the new AEWV requirements or need help with your application so that you meet INZ’s criteria, please get in touch with us at People Inc.

People Inc has many decades of combined experience working with clients on matters relating to migrant workers, including arranging visas and recruiting workers. We’re fully up to date with what’s required for you to meet the conditions of the new Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. Find out more about how we can help you with employer accreditation.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Employer’s guide to the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day

by Tanya Gray | Sep 14, 2022 | ConsultingHQ Blog

Employer’s guide to the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day

Contents

Can you ask your staff to work? How much do you need to pay them? Here’s what you need to know…
First things first: determine whether 26 September is an ‘otherwise working day’ for every employee
Can I ask an employee to work on QEII Memorial Day?
How much do I pay my employees for QEII Memorial Day?
Does it matter if I get things wrong?

Can you ask your staff to work? How much do you need to pay them? Here’s what you need to know…

26 September 2022 has been designated as a one-off public holiday to commemorate the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The official name of the holiday is Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day (QEII Memorial Day for short).

The legislation for QEII Memorial Day will be passed next week – which doesn’t give employers much time to prepare.

Important:

At this stage we’re assuming that the standard rules relating to public holidays will come into force. But if the new legislation for QEII Memorial Day is different in any way, we’ll provide updated information on this page. So please bookmark this page and keep checking back.

First things first: determine whether 26 September is an ‘otherwise working day’ for every employee

To know where you stand with regards to QEII Memorial Day, you need to know for each employee if that date is an ‘otherwise working day’ for them or not. That will affect whether you can ask them to work, and how much to pay them.

In some cases, it’ll be very clear whether 26 September is an ‘otherwise working day’ or not. But if it’s not so clear, you need to consider:

What is says in the individual employment agreement.
Your employee’s usual work patterns.
If the employee only works for you when you have work available for them.
Your roster (or other similar system).
The reasonable expectations both you and the employee have as to whether the employee would have worked on that day.
If your employee normally would have worked that day if it wasn’t a holiday, or if the employee isn’t on sick or bereavement leave.

Note that you and your employee must consider ALL of the factors above when reaching an agreement: you can’t rely on just one of these points.

Can I ask an employee to work on QEII Memorial Day?

You can certainly ask your employees to work on QEII Memorial Day. But you can’t force them to work that day unless:

26 September is an ‘otherwise working day’ for that employee; and
The employee’s employment agreement requires them to work on public holidays.

Many employment agreements have a catch-all clause relating to public holidays, saying that employees are required to work on a public holiday, and will do so if asked.

However, if the employment agreement doesn’t have a catch-all clause, or if 26 September isn’t an ‘otherwise working day’, you cannot force/insist that your employee works that day. You can still ask them, but they don’t have to accept.

(Sidenote: If you’re concerned your employment agreements aren’t as good as they could be, we’re happy to review them for free. Just get in touch.)

How much do I pay my employees for QEII Memorial Day?

How much you pay your employee depends on a few factors – here’s a guide for each scenario:

(a) The employee works on QEII Memorial Day

In this instance, the employee is entitled to the greater of their relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the time worked – plus half that amount again. In other words, they get paid time-and-a-half.

Also, if the employee works on any part of 26 September, and that day was NOT an ‘otherwise working day’ for them, they’re also entitled to an alternative day off – i.e. a day in lieu. That’s in addition to their payment for working on 26 September.

(b) The employee doesn’t work – even though it was an ‘otherwise working day’

Even though the employee hasn’t worked on an ‘otherwise working day’, they are still entitled to payment at not less than their relevant daily pay or average daily pay for that day.

(c) The employee doesn’t work – but it’s not an ‘otherwise working day’

The employee isn’t entitled to any payment under the Holidays Act in this scenario.

Does it matter if I get things wrong?

Yes – it matters if you get things wrong, even if you didn’t mean to.

If an employee (or ex-employee) is incorrectly paid for a public holiday, you could be held liable for the amount owed plus interest. And there may also be other penalties to pay. So this is definitely something you need to get right.

Do you need additional help or guidance?

Our experienced team of HR professionals has over 128 years’ collective experience. So if you need some prompt help or customised guidance, please get in touch.