​The Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment bill is currently in process in parliament.  Based on the premise that labour hire workers are being exploited and not afforded the same rights as their permanent counterparts, this bill seeks to redress this “loophole”.  I am sure that every business at one time or another has needed a short-term temporary worker and engaged a labour hire company or temp agency to provide that assistance.  What this bill will mean to employers if it is passed is that a temporary staff member engaged through an agency can bring a personal grievance against both companies.
Usually if you hire a temp through an agency you can give one days’ notice that you no longer require their services – and you don’t need a reason like you do for a permanent employee.  Now, the employee will be able to raise a personal grievance against the temp agency and the company that they temped for, for unjustified disadvantage and unjustified termination.  This bill places this whole industry in jeopardy and adds incredible risk to small businesses.
I think we are about to see a massive change in both the recruitment industry and temp labour industry.  While the final bill has not been enacted yet this will be making temp agencies very nervous about their impending risk.  Clients will no longer be able to terminate the services as needed and we may even see temps being exposed to the same disciplinary processes and restructuring processes that permanent employees need. This will completely remove the flexibility in the industry and tie businesses hands.  What was once a great back up for unexpected absence or increased production need will now become a mine field of employment legislation and risk for both businesses and agencies.
We will keep an eye on the bill’s progress and update you as needed.  Call if you have any questions or concerns. 

​I usually write a super work focused blog for my website once a month, but this month I am going to mix it up.  At the end of July, it was the one-year anniversary of starting my business – EasyHR. Over the last few weeks I have been reflecting on what I have learnt in the last year and I thought I would share these thoughts with you.

1. The most exciting high you will ever have (in business, not talking about drugs here people) is landing your first real client!  I can still remember the day that a client I had been speaking to over a few weeks final agreed to use me in their business.  They were my first client and proud to say they are still a client today.
2. Its super scary – in fact it was terrifying.  Before throwing in the towel on my 9-5 salary job I thought that starting a business would be hard but that if I worked hard everything would be OK.  Turns out that I had no idea what I was talking about – things that worked as a job seeker to get a role fell flat.  I must have tried a hundred different strategies to get clients, read everything on the internet (slight exaggeration here) about how to get clients as a consultant and done 600 free webinars from all kinds of snake oil salespeople that promised six figure business in minutes etc. Needless to say – none of that helped much.
3. You will find your niche!  In the early days I would try anything and take on any client, but I soon realised that this only made me unhappy.  I was working for clients that didn’t have the money to pay me and that wanted heaps of free time.  Once I sat down and defined my ideal client I was able to stop spinning my wheels and get the clients that I wanted to work with.
4. I would not change a thing …. Even with all the fear, uncertainty and stress that comes with starting a business I am still 100% happier than when I worked in the corporate world. 

 
So, here is to the next year (and hopefully many more), hope you guys will join me on the journey!

​For many businesses the loss of the 90 day trial period that the new Labour government have promised will mean a lot of changes to the way they manage staff.  Under the current 90 day trial period legislation all employers are able to hire a new employee (provided that they sign their agreement before they start, they haven’t worked for you before and the trial period is in the agreement) and terminate them within their first 90 days of employment without the risk of a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal.
The proposed changes will limit the trial period to only those employers with less than 20 employees.  But employers with 21 or more employees cannot use the period anymore.  According to research completed by the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) most employers were using the trial period to take a chance on a new employee – sometimes someone they would not have hired otherwise. 
So, if you are an employer that is likely to lose your right to use the trial period what can you do instead?  The general advice is to revert back to the probationary period.  An employee could still raise a grievance for unjustified dismissal under a probationary period so structure is going to be very important.
I suggest that you have a very structured probationary period and you document this in your employment agreements. The clause should have three set review periods (say monthly), set performance targets based on the role and an understanding from the employee that if they do not meet these standards they may be terminated for poor performance. 
That may sound quite harsh but as the EMA survey noted 90 of respondent said that they kept their employees on after the trial period and 94% of these employees stayed between 12-18 months with the company.
We will keep a close eye on the new legislation and let you all know what the final bill means for you. 

​I am sure that you have all seen the press around employers getting the Holiday’s Act 2003 entitlements wrong.  The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment itself identified that they had paid holiday entitlements incorrectly. This week the new Labour government announced that a review would be started into the Holidays Act – thank goodness!  The MBIE website states that a new regime is at least 2-3 years away and the new or amended legislation will not absolve employers from compliance with the current Act or remove their responsibility to re-mediate workers for historical underpayments. So even through things may get easier in the future, employers will still need to resolve their current problems.
 
For a small business, interpreting the Holidays Act is a tough call.  Most businesses (including many large businesses) have historically relied on their payroll provider to ensure that calculation of holiday pay and entitlements were correct. Many of these business are now finding that this was a mistake but without the ability to have in-house expertise is an understandable position.
 
So why is the Act so complicated?  It was drafted 15 years ago to reflect what working practices were like at the time.  As I am sure everyone is aware, these have changed and it is not uncommon for employees to work flexible hours, days or even work casually for a number of employers.  The Act simply cannot be easily applied to these kinds of workers.  In addition, it uses different units of measure – days for sick leave, bereavement leave and alternative holidays and weeks for annual leave.  This means that your payroll system needs to perform three different calculations in three different units if measure – hours, days and weeks.
If you are a small business and your employees work varying hours and days, you need to make sure that you get some good HR advice on what you should be paying people for their holidays. Remember that if you have paid employee’s incorrectly you have to recalculate their holiday entitlements going back 6 years. This also includes employees that have left the business.  This is a huge undertaking and employers are encouraged to get outside assistance in auditing their current payroll practices and assisting with the recalculation if needed. 

​In a recent Employment Relations Authority case an employer has been found to have unjustifiably dismissed their employee after the employee questioned why his wages were not paid on time.
You can review the case at this link if you want some more information.
In summary, the employee noticed that his salary payment had not been made by his employer.  The next day he approached his employer to ask about the missing payment and an argument ensued. The employer told the employee to leave the premise and return the company property.
The employee was aware that his boss was prone to angry out bursts so decided to return the next day to discuss the situation. He met with the employer and was told that he was being made redundant.
The employee was awarded $12000 by the Employment Relations Authority but his compensation was deduced due to his contribution to the dismissal, as he knew his boss was prone to angry outbursts.
This case raises a number of issues for employers.  You must follow the correct procedure when making employees redundant – the ERA will not tolerate shoddy restructuring processes. Consultation is mandatory before the decision is made. Resignations made in emotional times – known as “heat of the moment” resignations cannot be taken at face value and the employer is responsible for ensuring that they contact the employee after such a resignation (usually the next day) to see if that is still their intention.
I know that as an employer when your emotions run high and things are heated it can be hard to make the right choice, that’s why having an independent impartial employment advisor can help you make the right decision. If you need some help – call Tarryn 027 530 1255 today.