Paul Mackay: Business NZ employment specialist on the Government's changes to sick and annual leave

Business NZ says the Government's making workers leave simpler and more cost-effective.

It's announced a new hours-based annual and sick leave accrual system, including flexibility of being able to take only the hours needed off work rather than a full day.

It'll also mean part-time workers will no longer have a minimum sick leave entitlement.

Business NZ's Paul Mackay says leave's always been accrued, but there were other rules attached.

"The Government has simplified it by saying - you accrue leave or you earn leave as you go, it's effectively money in your bank and you will take out from that bank of leave when you want it."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Businesses across the country welcoming the end of the Holidays Act.
It's going in the bin government unveiling what they call
a far simpler streamline replacement. Employers say the current system
lead to costly payroll erarors millions in payback in some cases.
Paul McKay is a business New Zealand and employment specialist
with me on the line, Paul, good evening, good evening,
Hell you good, thank you. Can we just clear something

(00:21):
up first of all about part time workers because we've
had two points of view on this this evening, part
time workers and sick leave before and after this change
as as it's proposed. Are they better or worse off?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, they're proportionately the same because out of the old
system they were advantaged by the fact that they've got
ten days leave entitlement. If they were only a one
day week a worker, then they would actually have the
ability to take ten weeks of leave off as opposed
to the LUs of you and I who would probably
get ten days which was probably about two weeks worth.
But proatering it the way it's going to be happening

(00:57):
will mean that it will be proportionately the same for
absolutely everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
So you get off, you basically get out what you
put in kind of thing that's that's there.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
And what about learn you leave based on ours and
depending on the number of hours you work, there's a
the leader get.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
And it will start accruing. This is the sick leave
and for annually a whole bunch of other stuff we'll
start occurring earlier from the day that you actually start working,
rather than having career six months or twelve months. Will
there cost business and do you know how much, Well.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
It won't cost in the sense that it's it's accruing.
It has always been the case, except that the way
it was taken in terms of entitlements meant there was
a lot of other rules. We're simplifying. We the government
are simplified by saying your crew leave or you earn
leave as you go, and it's just simply effectively money
in your bank and you will take out from that

(01:49):
bank of leave when you want it, and that's the balance.
That's what's left. So there's no there's no kind of
a a lot more simplicity attached to this.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Why did it get so complicated.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, let's go back to nineteen forty four when the
Holidays ACTO was first started, we had a very different
working environment and basically it was Monday to Friday. If that.
Now we have a vast array of very complex working
arrangements and the act based on the week's approach just
simply doesn't cope.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
So from here we've got the legislation has to go
through the House. That's going to take a couple of years,
and then it'll be well a couple of years after
that before we actually see change.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
We've being a bit plastimistic and when it gets into
the house, we're hoping that we'll be in the house
by the end of the year, or at least by
the end of the term. But yes, two years after
that before it's finally effective, because there's still it's not
just the rules, it's about putting the rules in place
inside the computers that do the calculations, and the payroll
people that need to be trained. All of that needs
to be done well as well.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Is there anything changing to public to holiday public holiday pay?
You know?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Is that?

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I mean, will it make it more expense or would
it make it more expensive to stay open on public holidays? Potentially?

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Not necessarily because basically it's going to be the same
calculation for every form of leave, that reducing the current
crop of calculations for all different sorts of leave down.
There may be the occasional time when, especially when people
have uncertain hours or variable hours or casual where there
has to be some extra calculation done in terms of

(03:26):
what hours have been done with what people have earned.
But in general and overall, we see this as being
far simpler and more cost effective.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Weall appreciate your time serving. Paul McKay, whose business is
their Unemployment Specialist. For more from Heather Duplassy Alan Drive,
listen live to news talks.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
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