IN THE KNOW —
Holidays Act ‘pot pourri’ We consider it timely to remind you of key employer obligations under the Holidays Act 2003 as we commonly encounter compliance issues with this Act. These obligations include:
> Giving at least 14 days’ notice of any annual customary closedown period;
> Obtaining an employee’s prior agreement if you want to use any annual leave entitlement when he or she is absent due to sickness and has run out of paid sick leave entitlement (and not just automatically doing this);
>
Not requiring an employee to use up annual leave unless/ until you have first tried to reach agreement with the employee in good faith and you have given at least 14 days notice of the requirement to take the annual leave. This is the case even when you do not have work available for the employee for any reason;
> Paying holiday pay at the greater of the ordinary weekly
pay when the leave is taken or the average weekly earnings for the 12 months prior;
> Not requiring an employee to work on a public
holiday unless this is provided for in the employee’s employment agreement;
> Not requiring an employee to produce proof of sickness/ injury (such as a medical certificate) for only one or two days absence unless you pay the costs of the employee doing so; and
> Keeping written holiday and leave records for all employees (and providing these to the employee on request) including: – the name of the employee – the date on which the employee’s employment commenced – the number of hours worked each day in a pay period and the pay for those hours – the employee’s current entitlement to annual holidays – the date on which the employee last became entitled to annual holidays – the employee’s current entitlement to sick leave – the dates on which any annual holiday, sick leave, bereavement leave, or family violence leave has been taken
– the amount of payment for any annual holiday, sick leave, bereavement leave, or family violence leave that has been taken – the portion of any annual holidays that have been paid out in each entitlement year (if applicable) – the date and amount of payment, in each entitlement year, for any annual holidays paid out under section 28B (if applicable) – the dates of, and payments for, any public holiday on which the employee worked – the number of hours that the employee worked on any public holiday – the day or part of any public holiday specified in section 44(1) agreed to be transferred under section 44A or 44B and the calendar day or period of 24 hours to which it has been transferred (if applicable) – the date on which the employee became entitled to any alternative holiday – the details of the dates of, and payments for, any public holiday or alternative holiday on which the employee did not work, but for which the employee had an entitlement to holiday pay – the cash value of any board or lodgings, as agreed or determined under section 10 – the details of any payment to which the employee is entitled under section 61(3) (which relates to payment in exchange for an alternative holiday) – the date of the termination of the employee’s employment (if applicable) – the amount paid to the employee as holiday pay upon the termination of the employee’s employment (if applicable). For further help on any employment related issues, NZCB members can call our Employment Helpline: 07 928 0529 for 10 minutes free advice.
Danny Jacobson and Trudy Marshall are Partners at Employment Lawyers Tauranga and they specialise exclusively in employment law. They operate our Employment Helpline for NZCB members: phone 07 928 0529 for 10 minutes free advice on any employment related issues. (The above is by its nature general, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice.)
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