Thelma French & Associates

13/10/2021

RETURNING TO WORK PROTOCOLS

Different workplaces are able to return to work at different levels. We are sure you are all aware of the level in which you can operate. We have had a number of clients contact us about staff wary of returning to the workplace with unvaccinated colleagues and questions about what can be done about this.

You can only require staff to be vaccinated if there is a government mandate covering your sector, or if you can show a strong health and safety reason why this is necessary. Without a mandate, there is a high threshold to meet. The first thing you should do is undertake a thorough Health and Safety Risk Assessment and show the reasons why you believe it is the proper approach for your business.

You can find out more information about a risk assessment in regards to Covid19 here.

In any event, you should have clear policies and procedures to ensure your workplace is as safe as possible and communicate these to your team verbally and in writing to help alleviate any concerns. Listen to the points they raise and involve them in creating the workplace environment that will work best for your business. We strongly recommend that any policies and procedures are provided to staff as a draft document and genuinely seek and consider their feedback.

We have an updated checklist for returning to work and can help with communications to your team and advice on how to best deal with specific queries.

WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T ASK ABOUT VACCINATION

You can ask if someone is vaccinated but unless they fall under a Government-mandated category, they don’t need to tell you.

If you want to ask them you would also need to explain why you want to collect this information, how it will be used and stored in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 as it is personal and private information.​

CLAUSE FOR INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR NEW EMPLOYEE REQUIREMENT TO BE VACCINATED

If, following your Health and Safety Risk Assessment, you believe some or all of the staff in your business should be vaccinated, you are able to address this during the interview process, including the application form and the Individual Employment Agreement.

If you require assistance with the wording please contact us.

CHRISTMAS CLOSEDOWN

With all that is going on at the moment, it’s easy to forget it’s only just over two months until Christmas!

You may be rethinking your closedown period due to the lockdowns you have had this year or maybe planning to close down as usual. This is a good time to be considering your options and making sure you are communicating with your team.

There was an Employment Court ruling in 2020 in the case of Metropolitan Glass & Glazing Limited v Labour Inspector MBIE that provided clarification regarding payment during Christmas Closedowns and now is the right time to review what you need to do as an employer.

You are required to give a minimum of two weeks’ notice to your team of the closedown dates, but we recommend giving as much notice as possible so that people are aware and can make plans.

In the past, it has been common for companies to pay staff their entitled Annual Leave if they have any. If they haven’t been employed for a full year, or have used all their entitlement, then the common practice has been to allow people to use accrued leave to cover this period.
The Employment Court ruling changes how we are to handle this.

The ruling states:

Employees who have no entitled leave at the beginning of the closedown must:

Be paid 8% of gross earnings since their start date or since their last anniversary date for leave entitlement.
Their annual leave anniversary date then needs to be moved to the start of the closedown period.
For example: If you had a staff member start work on 1 June 2021 and you closed down on 21 December 2021, they would have worked for you for 6mths. This would mean they had no entitled leave but they would have accrued two weeks annual leave. You would need to:

Pay them 8% of what they have earned since 1 June 2021
Move their anniversary date for annual leave entitlement to 21 December 2021
If the 8% does not cover them for the entire period e.g. you close for three weeks and the 8% is only equivalent to two weeks wages, then you can agree to treat the remainder as unpaid leave or leave in advance.

If the employee has any entitled leave (even if it is not enough to cover the whole period) then the entitled leave must be used and then the remainder of the period can be paid as leave in advance or unpaid leave and their anniversary date does not move.

Leave in advance: If the employee wishes to have the remainder of the closedown period paid as leave in advance, and you agree, we strongly recommend that this is recorded in writing and signed by the parties. Just let us know if you want assistance with the wording of this.​

IMMIGRATION CHANGES

There was a major immigration announcement last week relating to those people currently in NZ and want to apply for residency.
People who were in the country on 29 September 2021 on specific visas, and who meet one of three criteria, now have an opportunity to apply for a one-off Resident Visa.

Applications open on 1 December 2021 for those who already have an application for a Skilled Resident Visa in the pipeline. All other eligible visa holders are able to apply from 1 March 2022 until July 2022.

There is an eligibility checker on the Immigration Website. To summarise they must currently:

Be on one of the relevant visas and paid above $27 per hour AND
Have been in NZ three years OR
Are working in a role on Immigration’s “Scarce List”.
Note: those on a visitor visa, student visa and working holiday visa are NOT eligible.

Applications can be made online and Immigration believes that 80% of applications should be able to be processed within 12 months.

This visa gives the successful applicants residency followed by a two-year journey to permanent residency and then a further step to citizenship.

Full details of the new visa and all criteria can be found on the Immigration NZ website.

This is general information. Please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances or if there are any other HR related matters you would like assistance with.

08/09/2021

PREPARING FOR LEVEL 3 – PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Due to the number of calls we are receiving from clients wanting to be ready for moving out of Level 4 lockdown, we have prepared the following practical information that may assist you:

RETURN TO WORKPLACE CHECKLIST

This provides questions to assist you to develop best practises for your workplace. It also encourages you to look at what systems and processes you had in place that worked well for Level 4 and what could be improved. This is a good time to review while fresh in your mind, as it may be required again in the future.

COVID-19 QUESTIONNAIRE AND RETURN TO WORK PROTOCOLS THAT CAN BE GIVEN TO STAFF BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK AT L3.

This questionnaire is voluntary and the protocols provide information on what is expected when staff return to work. Under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015, you are able to seek information to minimise risk in your workplace. We don’t think anyone will disagree that the Delta strain of Covid19 is definitely a risk. There may be staff who raise questions and, more than ever before, communication is critical to gain the level of trust that is required in the workplace during these uncertain times.

UPDATED APPLICATION FORM

We have updated our pre-employment application form with a question relating to Covid19 vaccination status. It is your decision completely as to whether or not you ask this question. Again, you would be doing this for the purposes of health and safety.

Both the Covid-19 questionnaire and the application form cover how the information would be used and stored.

All these documents are available at $75 + GST each, so if you would like to receive any or all of them, please email me.

If you have any questions relating to these matters or any other HR matters, please don’t hesitate to call – we are here to assist wherever possible.

30/08/2021

VACCINATION OF STAFF – PRACTICAL ADVICE
We have prepared a letter to go to staff asking them to let you know their vaccination status and if they haven’t been vaccinated, encouraging them to do so as soon as possible.
This is of course is voluntary, so the letter has been carefully worded and checked by our lawyers.
If you would like to order a copy of this letter, or wish to discuss further, please contact me.

23/08/2021

It has come to our attention that before applying for the subsidy employers must take all practicable steps to obtain consent from their staff to share their personal information with the Ministry of Social Development.
Even if you did this last year the advice we have received is that the exercise should be repeated for the current subsidy.
If you have already applied for the subsidy and don’t have the written consent from staff to apply, we recommend you do this as soon as possible.
If you would like the template for this purpose please let us know or if you have any questions, just call.

20/08/2021

Back in Level 4, with rising cases and places of interest, it looks almost certain that the Level 4 lockdown will continue.

I thought I would share some lessons from the last lockdown, and what the Employment Court rulings have since indicated we should do during this one.

Click the link below to see my latest newsletter with useful information for businesses and employees.

https://mailchi.mp/82a4105d2d24/lockdown-hr-requirements-subsidies

06/06/2021

With the recent changes in employment law, now is a good time to have your employment agreements reviewed and updated.

Please call if you would like us to assist with this.

http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/updating-employment-agreements/

03/06/2021

With the opportunity to travel outside New Zealand and the problems some people may experience, for example with the current situation in Melbourne, it is very important that you have a travel policy. Do you have one in place?

Find out more here:

http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/travel-policy-personal-and-business/

02/06/2021

As from 1 April 2021 an employee can take up to three days’ paid bereavement leave if they or their partner experiences a miscarriage or stillbirth. People planning to have a child through surrogacy or adoption are also eligible, if the pregnancy ends by miscarriage or stillbirth.

Find out more here:

http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/bereavement-leave/

01/06/2021

From Saturday 24 July 2021 sick leave will increase from 5 days to 10 days per year.

Employees will get the extra five days when they reach their next entitlement date – either after reaching 6 months’ employment or on their sick leave entitlement anniversary.

Find out more here: http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/increase-sick-leave-24-july-2021/

01/06/2021

It seems the rules are changing frequently these days.

In this newsletter, we have set out some new information you need to be aware of as employers:

Increase in sick leave from 25 July and how this should be managed.
Bereavement leave can now be used in the event of a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Need to update employment agreements in light of changes.
Covid19 Staff Travel Policy - to ensure your staff are clear if they venture overseas and can’t get back as planned. - https://mailchi.mp/0202aab8928c/changes-to-employment

02/03/2021

We have been fielding calls from clients who are becoming concerned over their ability to pay wages, despite Government subsidies.
We understand that sometimes interpretation of new information around Covid-19 can be confusing. It is very important that you respond in a way that is both practical and procedurally correct.
It is interesting to note that Government sources have publicly suggested that some employers are dealing with the situation incorrectly and opening themselves up to personal grievance action. Clearly this is not a good outcome for employers or their staff.
Please contact me if you would like to talk this through.

23/11/2020

Xmas Closedown and Payment During Closedown:

Are you aware of recent Employment Court ruling about how you pay people during your closedown period?

It’s that time of the year again and some of you will be looking to closedown or reduce to skeleton staff over the Christmas/New Year period.

Read our latest blog for more on what you need to know about Christmas shutdowns and your employees.

http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/xmas-closedown-and-payment-during-closedown/

07/09/2020

This subject isn’t talked about very often but I am receiving more calls where the employee is demonstrating bullying behaviour to their employer which is having a detrimental effect not only on the employer but the business. It usually occurs when the employee thinks the business, (usually a small business) would fall over if they weren’t there. No employer has to accept that behaviour and I can assist in resolving that situation if it’s happening to you – just give me a call or email me if you want to discuss this further.

31/08/2020

Did you know that a fixed term agreement should have a clause specifically recording that if the role is no longer required, the agreement can be terminated with notice otherwise the employer may be liable to pay the employee for the full term of the agreement if redundancy occurs.

27/08/2020

Regional Business Partnership Network: As we’re now an approved registered service provider you may be able to access funding for us to work together on any HR matter you may have.

This means that if Covid-19 is having an impact on your business then you may be eligible for a voucher of up to $5,000 excluding GST to cover 100% of services and advice we may provide under the Covid-19 business Advisory Fund.

It may also be possible for part funding for the Capability Development Voucher Fund. This provides up to 50% towards the cost of training and coaching services for eligible businesses. The maximum amount a business can receive in one year is $5,000 excluding GST.

You can find out more here: www.regionalbusinesspartners.co.nz

If you are worried and not sure what to do, please call and we will find a way through.

27/08/2020

Covid-19 – Urgent – Wage Subsidies Expiring

The wage subsidy extension (8 weeks) is only available until 11.59pm 1 September 2020 and payments are for an eight week period. If you now meet the criteria you should apply for this rather than the Resurgence Wage Subsidy as you will receive 8 weeks rather than 2 weeks support.

You only have until 3 September 2020 to apply for the latest subsidy – being the two-week Resurgence Wage Subsidy.

The COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme was changed at 1pm on Friday 21 August so it is now available for employers, including sole traders, to pay their employees who can’t work and aren’t receiving any other Covid-related support as you can only receive one benefit at the same time.

If you have questions or concerns about any of the above COVID-19 related schemes and support for businesses, get in touch with me.

13/08/2020

We are receiving many calls from worried clients in light of Covid-19 developments this week.

We hope this information will be helpful to you in considering how to best manage your legal obligations in conjunction with your current financial situation and the ongoing sustainability of your business.

http://thelmafrench.com/blog/entry/new-lockdown-are-you-having-consider-changes-terms/

26/05/2020

We are now at level 2 and life continues to be very stressful for many of our clients who are being forced to reduce staff numbers due to COVID-19.

The most common questions we are receiving at the moment relate to the subsidy and the process that is required to be followed if they are unable to keep people employed until the end of the subsidy.

In this blog post we provide general information that many clients were unaware of when they approached us for advice.

The matters we will touch on in this blog post are:

📌 Wage subsidy obligations
📌 Notice periods
📌 Outstanding holiday entitlement
📌 Extended wage subsidy
📌 Spreadsheet for planning redundancies
📌 COVID Income Relief Payment for people who lost their jobs due to Covid-19 since 1 March.

These are complex matters, without precedent. If you have to consider reducing staff numbers we strongly recommend that you call us before commencing any action which may affect the employment relationship.

Thelma French provides experienced and professional HR advice & support to NZ companies and organisations. Call today on 021 81 33 82.