BusinessPlus March 2015 lr

P u b l i c ation of the Employers & Manufacturers A s s o c i a t i o n I n c

Issue 123 – March 2015 $6.30

BusinessPlus news | advice | learning | networking

Adventurer makes waves – Auckland harbour tourism Benchmark yourself against pay trends - 28 key jobs in detail

Inside • Get employment trials right • The Resource Management Act matters • Health and safety law update • Check your export readiness

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BusinessPlus is published by : The Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) Inc

On the cover...

159 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton, Private Bag 92066, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142 Ph: 09 367 0909 or 0800 800 362 Email: ema@ema.co.nz

Former South Canterbury farm boy and jet boat fiend Paul Macaulay is making waves with Auckland Adventure Jet on the Waitemata Harbour. Read more on page 25.

Website: www.ema.co.nz Chief Executive: Kim Campbell Manager, Advocacy & Govt Relations: Mark Champion Manager EMA Learning: David Foley Manager, Strategy & Enterprise: Mauro Barsi

CONTENTS Advocacy

advice

04 On the agenda

6

wages & salary: Pay trends

8

28 BENCHMARK JOB POSITIONS

05 Alignment wanted for

Waikato Denis Quigan 07 823 9311

mob 027 203 0694

Russell Drake 07 838 0018

mob 021 686 621

environment and development

14 in the lobby: How the OECD sees us

Bay of Plenty Terry Arnold 07 575 8401

Rotorua / Taupo / South Waikato / Whakatane Clive Thomson 07 348 0334 mob 0274 372 808

BusinessPlus Editor Gilbert Peterson Ph: 09 367 0916

Writer Mary MacKinven mary.mackinven@ema.co.nz Designer

10 New OH&S law locked in export 22 New export readiness check – free, member-only service

23 Letter from Australia: Holding fast to (less profitable) principles

23 Food safety centre developing fast

features 19 retirement: Phased retirement: a new approach

ISSN No. 1176-4953

TAX TIPS: Taxpayer 1, IRD, 0

17 Resolving complaints about power & gas companies

18 TAX management: Reduce the financial sting of looming terminal tax payment

18

ISO’s first Standard to protect personal data in the cloud

20 Employment Relations

Amendment Act 2014: Update

21 Parental leave changes April 2015: Update

22

25 TRAVELLING WITH A PURPOSE: Timor-L’este

Colin Gestro (09) 475 9313 colin@affinityads.com

16

22 Entries open for export awards

Ripeka Mikaere Advertising Sales

Restructuring? (Take care). And using a 90-day trial to take on a young person

favour subbies

news

gilbert.peterson@ema.co.nz

12 EMPLOYMENT CHAT:

14 Claw back rules overturned to mob 021 662 656

for 2015: Steady as she goes

– the world’s youngest nation

25 profile: Adventurer makes waves

27 member noticeboard:

Crisis and counselling charity seeks corporate angels

4

24

ADVOCACY at work

EMA’s team of advocates delivers your concerns to Government and local councils as the collective voice of business in the north. Your membership of EMA gives your business that voice and adds strength to our collective representation. In addition, you benefit from the lobbying work of BusinessNZ of which EMA is the biggest shareholder.

On the agenda The members of EMA’s OSH Forum are considering being involved in developing an international Standard for the management of occupational health and safety (see more on page 10).

The Employers Forum has been discussing trends in the workplace, after hearing a presentation from AUT Professor Tim Bentley on the topic. He also updated members on the recent Future of Work Conference, which covered employment law implications, the Future of Work Commission, skills challenges and the ageing workforce.

He says the workforce of the near future will be more flexible, collaborative and less secure, populated increasingly by older people and led by a generation with different values to their predecessors.

The Forum will define a list of issues to help members prepare for the future of work, to focus its advocacy efforts. For example, what practices can we promote that are likely to improve flexibility in employment such as: contracting or hiring casual workers; reducing regulation; after hour’s availability of staff; and remote working? What would help employers prepare for the ageing workforce and increasing cultural diversity in the labour market?

The Manufacturers Forum is discussing the low level of investment in innovation in New Zealand, and our subsequent slow improvement in productivity.

It also noted the expansion of manufacturing in the US, which has a significant impact on the world economy. A recent Trade Fact of the Week from the US-based think tank Progressive Economy outlined the stellar growth occurring in the US manufacturing sector. For doubters who thought manufacturing activity was migrating from developed, to less developed countries, these figures may be a dose of humble pie: • Last year there were 222,000 new jobs in US manufacturing.

• Another 22,000 jobs were created this January.

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•

In dollar terms, US manufacturing was up 4.4% over 2014, while worldwide it was down by 1.1%, pushed down by “slumps” in China, Japan and Latin America.

EMA’s overarching Policy Forum that prioritises issues raised in EMA’s other fora and committees, is ranking those issues for our advocacy team to pursue.

The issues include the Resource Management Act, barriers to trade, regional infrastructure in the areas where EMA members operate, and employee skills.

Voice to government

EMA has recently contributed to submissions prepared by BusinessNZ (of which EMA is the major shareholder) for the Productivity Commission on the issues paper, Using Land for Housing.

Additionally, EMA presented the following submissions: • To the Commerce Select Committee on the Standards and Accreditation Bill; • To the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the Occupational Health and Safety Reform Bill – verbally and in writing; • To MBIE on the Discussion Paper on the Draft OH&S Regulations - – verbally and in writing; • To the World Bank on their Environmental and Social Framework setting standards for Sustainable Development; and • To the Auckland CCO Monitoring Committee on the Watercare ‘business differential’ issue.

Voice to the general public: in the media

The views of Auckland Council, as 100% owner of the Ports of Auckland, were hopelessly conflicted and befuddled, EMA said in a press release last month.

The Council has already placed severe restrictions on the growth of its own Port asset by making any expansion of it

a non-complying activity.

At the same time, the Council expects the port to make a 12% return on the equity it has invested.

In addition, for its own Auckland Plan to work, the city must grow exports by 6% a year and for economic activity overall to grow 5% with the port a key to achieving this.

The number of cruise ships calling into Auckland is also projected to increase by 30% over the next five years and by 60% within 15 years.

Yet the Port, the largest in New Zealand and on which the city’s growth will significantly depend, is the only one in the country whose expansion is restrained by the whim of council vote.

Within 15 years the existing container capacity will be full.

If the Council won’t allow the port’s commercial expansion it should sell it said an EMA spokesperson.

In the news: SUMMARY

Through your membership of EMA, your concerns were mentioned in the news 27 times in our most recent monthly statistics of media coverage (for January 2015). That’s getting the voice of business into the public arena and thereby before key influencers.

Those media included NewstalkZB, Radio NZ, The Dominion Post, The Taranaki News, The Manawatu Standard, Stuff.co.nz, The Rotorua Daily Post, Idealog, The Timaru Herald and The New Zealand Herald.

More recently EMA has also been interviewed and quoted in the 6pm news bulletins of TV1 and TV3.

ADVOCACY

By Kim Campbell

Alignment wanted for environment and development There are very good reasons why the dry and complex matter of the 2015 review of the Resource Management Act (RMA) is worth understanding.

Before your eyes glaze over, let me assure you I’m going to discuss it in lay person’s terms, hopefully to convince you why we are focusing so much effort on it, and to encourage you to tell us your experiences so we can lobby for you even more effectively.

More than with most regulation, the RMA matters and it can’t be avoided in most of our lives, in both professional and personal spheres.

It can affect the gardening you do at home as well as transport options for your work premises.

Where the RMA matters most

The RMA is the legislation at the crossroads between development and the protection of the environment.

It’s the place these often conflicting aspects of life attempt to arrive at harmony.

But many of you, our members, tell us there’s a real absence of alignment, that the two factors are out of sync. Often the reasons are that regulatory processes are very difficult and slow to manage, and inconsistent - that you don’t know what you are getting day-to-day certainly not, across the country.

The Act is now a serious impediment to even measured, environmentally sensitive development – in a nutshell, the RMA is holding back our businesses and the country. It’s a serious constraint to business and national prosperity. And we, along with a lot of others – including the Minister for the Environment - want it changed.

Here’s just some examples of it’s impact. The Northern Gateway Toll road was delayed 10 years due to

consenting issues under the RMA, the Wellington inner city bypass 15 years and The Sky Tower six years.

The Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith has released his early thinking on the Act. His 10-point approach all makes sense to us. In

“EMA believes the Act is now a serious impediment to even measured, environmentally sensitive development – in a nutshell, the RMA is holding back our businesses and the country”

summary, his focus is on the Act’s process rather than its principles.

Changes to the process are likely to include national Standards for consenting and the possibility of contestability for consenting.

(With 1500 Auckland Council jobs paid more than $100,000 a few planners will be a bit worried).

Changes to the process will also include basic things like moving from paper shuffling to 21st century communications, explicitly recognising property rights, and driving hard on the housing

affordability issue.

Business will expect the reforms to ensure councils become more consistent with delays and uncertainty greatly diminished, and their transactions costs much lower.

The reforms should also curb councils’ ability to hide behind false efficiency measures. Claims, for example, that 98% of consents are issued within statutory time frames should be laid bare by the new legislation.

Business hopes too that the new regime’s legal requirements will limit the opportunities for commercial adventurism, litigation and bounty hunting behaviour.

There is still a gap between the views of the Minister and those who believe the whole purpose of the Act should be revisited – where the purpose as articulated in section 5 around “sustainable management” should be changed to “sustainable development”.

The minister has made it clear that this Act after all is an environmental statute – and he after all is the Minister for the Environment.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has hinted that there may be an ‘exposure draft’ of the legislation or a paper on the background to Government’s thinking, prior to legislation being introduced. This is not altogether unusual with such contentious stuff, but it is interesting.

We look forward to receiving more information on the review and getting our teeth into the detail. We are collating the details of members’ experiences of the RMA to add to our submission.

Please let us know your thoughts and experiences with the RMA. Email me at kim.campbell@ema.co.nz BusinessPlus

5

wage salary

By David Shannon

Pay trends for 2015 – steady Not unexpectedly, the overall trend in pay rates continues upwards at the same modest rate of a year ago.

The article on the Outlook on Wages and Salaries for 2014 (Business Plus, March last year) considered that the “stormy seas of wage claims” were calming and the upward movement of overall pay rates was “modestly continuing”, though only barely keeping up with inflation.

The EMA’s National Wage & Salary Survey through the year of 2014 to 2015 continues to show market variations across different jobs and skills.

While reliable statistical averages are difficult to determine in individual job samples that change from year to year, the overall wage movement for all positions was 2.1%. This data comes from the National Wage & Salary Survey which covers some 216 different positions across 18 job “families.” While this provides a broad overview of wage and salary movement, it is difficult to determine movement more accurately for specific job groups.

While the economic climate reflects

Job Family Clerical/Administration Contracting/Construction Electrical/Electronics Engineering Finance/Accounting Food Retail General Health Hospitality Information Systems Local Authority Management Manufacturing/Production Residential/Community Care Retail Sales/Marketing Supply/Distribution Transport

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“While it appears the average employee is only barely keeping ahead of inflation, those in Auckland are faced with added pressures” continued growth, this is variable across the different business sectors where this variation is reflected in different degrees of movement in wages and salaries. Even the job families represented in the table on page 8 are composed of jobs from different employment sectors where movements may differ for what are essentially the “same” jobs. As numbers and participants change in these samples, direct comparisons must be made with caution.

Broadly speaking, and not surprisingly, public sector salary movements are slightly more

Average Movement 2014 4.4% -1.4% 5.5% 0.9% -1.4% -9.7% 7.1% 12.7% 5.1% -1.1% 17% 7.3% 2.8% 7.3% 10.1% 5.8% 2.2% -1.8%

constrained than in the private sector. The latter is also enhanced by overall higher levels of incentive payments which reflect a recovering and growing economy, albeit at a modest rate.

Digging deeper into the data reveals that there is less differentiation between the movement in pay for top performers and the rest of the pack than there has been in the past.

This appears to indicate that the link between performance and pay has become less clear.

Focus on top performers

But, differentiating pay increases based on performance is essential to keep and motivate the top performers.

While this would appear to be a costly approach, the principle being applied is that top performers increase the performance – and financial situation – of the entire organisation. Thus, investing in higher wages for these jobholders becomes essentially a “capital investment” as much as new facilities or equipment is, which lead to greater output. This also supports the awareness among employers that the engagement and retention of staff are a top priority.

While pay is still the most important reward, employers are also trying to provide rewards beyond compensation in the form of training and career development.

Greater efforts are also being put into providing some form of worklife balance initiative. This can be as simple as allowing more flexible work hours to better cope with, for example, Auckland’s traffic.

In looking at the Auckland market alone, it is noteworthy that the continued rise in Auckland housing costs does not appear to have any flow-on effect on wages and salaries and is unlikely to do so in 2015. Aucklanders appear to be hunkering down to get through whatever the housing market throws at them.

A concern now is that the slow movement in salaries could lead to higher turnover as employees seek

wage salary

as she goes to improve their financial position through changing jobs.

For employees, a new job – possibly even with the same employer – is seen as the most effective way to a higher salary.

Unsurprisingly, “new employees” tend to expect higher salaries than the existing staff. Thus, there is good value in an employer making the effort to improve base pay to keep their best people doing their jobs effectively.

The ageing workforce is also a factor in wage movement as older employees tend to stay longer with the same employer even though they have reached the top of their designated pay band. The pressure then is for overall movement of the salary structure rather than further movement of jobholders forming bulges at the tops of the pay bands.

But the longer working lives of older employees can also mean fewer younger workers are being trained up within the organisation.

Little change to benefits and conditions

The National Wage & Salary Survey also collects information relating to benefits and conditions of employment. Overall, little change in the provision of benefits was detected in the 2014 survey year.

Four weeks remains the norm for

“Differentiating pay increases based on performance is essential to keep and motivate top performers” annual leave entitlements, though five and six week entitlements continue to increase among managerial positions.

Almost incidentally, low-cost flu vaccinations remain the most popular benefit at all staff levels.

The growing use of the Total Remuneration approach to pay structures provides a fairer means of comparing the total rewards received by different employees even when their pay packages are made up of different components. This is especially true when comparing overall rewards in different sectors that use different structures or pay components.

The outlook for 2015? “Steady as she goes” – more of the same.

The National Employers Wage & Salary Survey is run throughout the year with 12-month rolling data used to create weekly reports. This means that when you receive your report it

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Covering 216 positions across 18 job families, this is a comprehensive benchmark survey. The survey pricing structure is ‘per position’ with significant discounts for participants.

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BusinessPlus

7

wage salary 28 BENCHMARK JOB POSITIONS Machinist/Toolmaker (EN08)

2012

2013

2014

2014

Automotive Engineer - Heavy (Motor Mechanic Diesel) (EN10)

2012

2013

2014

40 $156,079 -0.3% -0.4%

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

59 $55,000 3.4% 0.2%

27 $56,700 3.2% 1.9%

28 $59,065 4.2% 3.6%

2013

2014

Accounts Clerk (FA11)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

2012

2013

2014

91 $124,907 -1.4% -0.02%

2012

2013

2014

Payroll Clerk (FA14)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

2012

2013

2014

68 $125,346 -2.1% -0.7%

2012

2013

2014

Engineers Mate/Trades Assistant (Fitters Mate) (EN06)

2012

2013

2014

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

34 $44,000 10.5% 3.4%

29 $39,700 -9.7% -0.8%

45 $42,504 7.1% 2.2%

Caretaker/Custodian/Handyperson (GE03)

2012

2013

2014

Staff Nurse/Registered Nurse (HE05)

2012

2013

2014

Salesperson - skilled (RE05)

2012

2013

2014

Warehouse/Storeperson - Semi-Skilled (SD04)

2012

2013

2014

Warehouse/Storeperson - Unskilled (SD05)

2012

2013

2014

CEO/Managing Director - 50-199 Employees (MA02)

2012

2013

2014

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

172 $216,200 0.7% 4.3%

170 $207,600 -4.0% 1.6%

32 $195,424 -5.9% -3.0%

General Manager - 50-199 Employees (MA05)

2012

2013

General Manager - Under 50 Employees (MA06)

2012

Finance Manager/Financial Controller (FA01)

Chief Information Officer (IS01)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Marketing Manager (SA01)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Human Resources Manager (MA09)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Human Resources Advisor - Up To 5 Years (MA11)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Analyst/Programmer (IS03)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Sales Representative/Commercial Traveller (SA07)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

55 $176,900 11.8% 6.4% 191 $133,600 6.9% 3.9% 160 $126,700 -1.1% -0.2% 26 $110,600 4.9% 1.8%

2012

52 $121,300 4.8% 3.8%

2012

592 $104,900 0.9% 2.1%

2012

24 $60,700 -4.7% 1.0%

2012

71 $71,300 -3.7% -0.4%

2012

463 $59,500 8.2% 3.9%

66 $156,500 -11.5% 1.9% 143 $126,700 -5.2% 1.9% 116 $128,000 1.0% 1.4% 27 $116,400 5.3% 2.7%

2013

54 $111,400 -8.2% 0.1%

2013

46 $104,100 -0.7% 0.5%

2013

34 $62,700 3.3% 0.9%

2013

84 $76,500 7.3% -0.2%

2013

148 $60,600 1.8% 5.7%

19 $119,518 2.7% 4.2%

2014

37 $104,727 -6.0% -3.2%

2014

74 $100,046 -3.9% -1.2%

2014

15 $58,754 -6.3% -2.7%

2014

25 $76,789 0.4% 1.2%

2014

137 $62,716 3.5% 4.4%

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

38 $58,200 5.5% 0.7%

79 $42,600 -0.4% 1.7% 60 $49,900 2.9% 2.8%

30 $43,900 4.7% 2.8% 124 $58,600 4.7% 0.9% 81 $38,000 -6.5% -1.1% 357 $38,200 2.6% 2.5% 298 $34,400 3.4% 3.5%

32 $57,900 -0.5% 2.7%

71 $44,200 3.8% 2.6% 54 $51,000 2.2% 2.1%

8 $39,300 -10.3% -2.0% 17 $65,000 10.9% 4.9% 68 $39,500 3.8% -2.6% 346 $39,300 3.0% 3.3% 206 $34,400 0.2% 4.3%

25 $56,671 -2.1% 0.9%

38 $48,279 9.2% 4.3% 34 $52,209 2.4% 2.5%

27 $45,110 14.8% 2.6% 25 $65,698 1.1% 5.4% 59 $45,135 14.3% 3.8% 134 $40,037 1.9% 2.5% 85 $34,518 0.3% 1.3%

Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant to CEO (CA04)

2012

2013

2014

Maintenance Fitter (MP14)

2013

2014

63 $61,400 5.0% 3.2%

64 $60,600 -1.3% 1.9%

34 $60,804 0.3% 1.3%

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

2012

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

Receptionist/Data Entry (CA08)

2012

2013

2014

Production Worker - Unskilled (MP12)

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

2012

2013

2014

87 $42,913 5.2% 2.6%

Registered Electrician (EL05)

2012

2013

2014

Production Worker - Semi-Skilled (MP11)

2012

2013

2014

Electronics Technician (EL06)

2012

2013

2014

Driver - General Road Transport (TP05)

2012 376 $41,600 -4.9% 0.9%

2013 215 $45,800 10.3% 1.9%

2014 26 $42,065 -8.2% -1.3%

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

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171 $40,600 1.9% 2.3% 152 $61,800 -0.3% -1.3% 102 $49,200 -6.3% 1.5%

126 $40,800 0.6% 2.3% 91 $65,500 5.9% 1.7% 49 $52,900 7.5% 0.2%

57 $64,010 -2.3% 1.1% 66 $52,850 -0.1% 0.2%

# of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling # of employees Average base salary % movement 3 year rolling

84 $61,100 -2.7% 3.2% 434 $33,800 6.9% 2.5% 816 $37,400 1.7% 1.7%

42 $55,500 -9.1% -1.2% 791 $33,300 -1.4% 4.0% 1,198 $37,100 -0.9% 2.3%

37 $63,176 13.8% 0.2% 330 $34,290 3.0% 2.8% 439 $37,220 0.3% 0.4%

Keep your nger on the pulse Your people are one of your biggest assets. To make sure your business is performing at its best you need to get their pay and benefits ‘just right’. That’s where we can help. Using our market intelligence you can keep your finger on the pulse of market trends and act with confidence.

The National Employers Wage and Salary Survey covers 216 positions. Our comprehensive reports include splits by industry, location and revenue bands: Salary reports: Reflect Salary ranges by position, location, revenue bandings and industry.

Beneets and Conditions reports: Position specific analysis of benefits and conditions.

You’ll find sample reports as well as a full list of positions and descriptions on our website.

www.nzsalarysurvey.co.nz The

National Employers Wage and Salary Survey is a joint venture between

NEWS

New OH&S law locked in Expect there to be no further structural changes to the new workplace health and safety law, Paul Jarvie told the EMA OH&S Forum last month. Paul is EMA’s manager of industrial relations and safety.

This month the Select Committee will release its recommendations on the law, and its extensive list of regulations – 70 pages of them.

The final bill will be set to go to Parliament by June or July for its enactment due to commence in October, Paul Jarvie said.

This month will see the first draft of the regulations to be made public, covering five areas, which are: • Risk and general issues in the workplace • Safety reps and engagement with the workforce • Working with asbestos • Working with hazardous chemicals • Managing hazardous facilities such as pipelines, tank farms, underwater, etc The regulations are still in the form of a discussion paper with their scope likely to be similar to what’s in the draft of them.

Worksafe role

For clarification Paul noted, Worksafe New Zealand provides guidelines on compliance – and there’s a lot more guideline materials to come including an interpretative guide to the Act - and the enforcement of it and its regulations. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) undertakes the policy development work to apply.

But there is nothing likely to be written in concrete on the regulations or the interpretative guide before June/ July, Paul said, adding that it has been out for ‘targeted consultation’.

More information wanted

Acknowledging that people want more information as soon as possible, Paul said its difficult for companies to prepare fully for the new Act when much of the detail of the bill is not known and there will be devil in the detail.

An issue causing some puzzlement still is the processes to be followed

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BusinessPlus

when multiple PCBUs are on a work site. And further clarification is likely to be sought on what a PCBU is – there seems to be misconceptions over the term still.

Overall however, most firms are expressing a strong desire to know what’s going on and what they need to know and do.

OH&S certification association

Moves are afoot to create some sort of certification organisation for OH&S managers and certifiers, in addition to the OH&S nurses association.

The organisation would likely focus on middle managers and assist with training, which under the new law will move from identifying hazards in a workplace towards risk assessment and management. Identifying hazards will still be important, but the new law could well make training in risk assessment important.

Company director fined $60,000

A recent case where a company director was fined $60,000 and also sentenced to four months home detention gives a pointer on director liability, which is likely to become even firmer under the new law.

Arthur Britton’s company, Britton Housemovers Ltd, was moving a house in Hawkes Bay in 2013 when it crashed into a power line, snapping it. The line fell onto a house roof. An employee used a stick to move the line into a roadside ditch where some sheep walked and were electrocuted. Two sheep dogs went in after the sheep and they were electrocuted too. A shepherd reached out to grab the sheep but the farmer pulled him back at the last minute.

Meanwhile the house moving convoy moved on….

international Standard coming

EMA is keen to get involved in drafting an international standard on occupational health and safety (OH&S) management systems, “OH&S Requirements and guidance for use” (ISO/ Paul Jarvie CD 45001) but we are not presently accredited to the committee doing the work. Should we be?

The standard would be used by certified companies to demonstrate their compliance with internationally recognised best practice in OH&S, and useful towards complying with forthcoming changes to New Zealand law and regulations. It may hold particular value for multi nationals who want all their operations to comply with a similar standard.

Members of EMA’s OH&S Forum are invited to get involved on behalf of New Zealand industry as a ‘participating member’, which would allow them to comment in writing and vote on the standard as it is developed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) over about the next two years.

Involvement is through Standards New Zealand (SNZ) and requires about $3000 to set up an international review group, plus an annual cost of about $1500 till the standard is completed.

Anyone interested in contributing to the fund or being involved should contact EMA’s manager of industrial relations and safety, Paul Jarvie at paul.jarvie@ema.co.nz Don’t forget to book your place at EMA’s 19th Annual Occupational Health + Safety Conference on April 21 and 22 – two days of complete coverage to prepare for the sea change that’s coming.

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EMPLOYMENT CHAT

Restructuring? (Take care). And using a 90 I’m about to restructure because we just aren’t keeping up with sales forecasts. It’s not about the sales reps. I can see our marketing and some senior management need fresh blood. But I can’t face it on my own. Where do I get help? – Jo Dear Jo You aren’t alone in being afraid (understatement in most cases) of carrying out a restructure.

We have a lot of material on our website that is free to members about how to go about restructuring and what the legal requirements are in terms of interaction with staff. Visit www.ema. co.nz Also we have Employment Relations consultants and our EMA Legal team of lawyers available at member rates to work alongside you at any level of involvement you may want on issues like this.

Call AdviceLine if you require a referral to a consultant or lawyer.

Once you make the business call and have the evidence you need to potentially release some positions and create new roles you can begin the interface and consultation process with staff – not just those directly affected but all staff - a restructure has big ripple effects.

One other thought is that if you need

“A position can only be disestablished for genuine business reasons, and so it cannot be immediately reinstated of course” fresh blood, this alone is not a reason to dismiss someone. You can only dismiss a person if they are genuinely underperforming and you go through the correct, fair procedures with them.

A restructure involves a change of roles or positions, not people per se.

A position can only be disestablished for genuine business reasons, and so it cannot be immediately reinstated of course.

If a fresh approach is all you need, perhaps some training or motivating of your current, reliable staff – people who already hold your firm’s intellectual property in their heads - is a better way than a restructure.

I’m nervous about hiring young people but want to train someone from scratch into our way of doing things, and have it not cost me too much.

What can I do to make it easy for me and them? – Bart

Dear Bart The first things that come to mind are to make use of 90 day employment trials, probationary periods, review your recruitment practice and learn how to understand NCEA results.

Plus here’s a general tip: don’t think of young people as all the same. See each person for what they are, and have faith not all are unmotivated to work. This will help begin with a positive outlook and for you to see the opportunities that candidates can provide for your business.

Where you are employing someone you aren’t sure about in terms of their ability to fulfil the role, we recommend using a trial period.

• Under a ‘90-day trial’, by agreement a new employee can serve a trial period up to 90 days. You can terminate the employment at any time in that period and the employee cannot take a personal grievance claim against you to the Employment Relations Authority about being let go.

But of course good faith obligations apply during the trial period, so open communication is important as is monitoring and evaluating the employee’s performance. Ideally the trial period will be successful and they will become a valuable employee.

However, if the employee is not able to carry out their job description and you discuss this and there is no improvement, and you intend

Advice and Support when you need it!

We’ve got a team of advisors, lawyers and consultants who’ll do more than take the case - they’ll help you build a workplace for the future.

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Member Only Resources

Don’t just get information – get advice you can rely on from industry specialists.

A library of knowledge, tested in the courts and all in one place.

A free, confidential telephone service providing employers with up to date, direct and practical advice.

Our member only resources allow you to download templates for all the difficult jobs that face employers - like Employment Agreements and OH&S.

Free call AdviceLine, NZ 0800 300 362, AU 1800 300 362 or visit our website, www.ema.co.nz

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10/06/13 12:42 PM

EMPLOYMENT CHAT

day trial to take on a young person terminating the employment under the trial period, you need to meet and advise them that it is not working out. You need to provide him/her with notice of the termination before the end of the trial period, as per the employment agreement, as kindly as possible of course.

• A ‘probationary period’ is another option, however, unlike a valid trial period a dismissal under a probationary period is open to challenge via a personal grievance. During the period specified in the employment agreement the employer is required to point out the new person’s shortcomings and help them overcome these with training or other assistance.

There is no right of automatic dismissal at the end of the period.

If improvement is unsatisfactory, the usual performance management procedures must be followed, and if you get it wrong or behave unfairly (not in good faith), the employee can take a personal grievance claim against you. You can make the performance management phase shorter than normal and extend the probationary period if these factors are in the employment agreement.

In either case the trial terms (set in law) must be explicitly agreed in the employment contract.

Obviously recruiting the best person will save a lot of hassle. So plan carefully what skill set you want and

“A ‘probationary period’ is another option, however, unlike a valid trial period a dismissal under a probationary period is open to challenge via a personal grievance” what business culture the person will be fitting into. Also, get help to create and place a job advertisement that will convey to your right target audience what you require. You might also need help to interview and sign up the best person on the right terms for your situation.

The right assistance will help you understand a school-leaver’s abilities as expressed in a student’s Record of Achievement under the NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) programme. You can view details about this online at www. nzqa.govt.nz • By the EMA communications team in consultation with EMA Advice, and loosely based on real calls to EMA’s AdviceLine. All names are fictional.

The information in this article is a guide only and not to be used as

business advice without further consultation.

EMA members can start with our free AdviceLine team at phone 09367 0909 or 0800 300 362 (within New Zealand), and 1800 300 362 (from Australia), 8am-8pm weekdays.

Alternatively, email advice@ema. co.nz or read or print information such as the A-Z of Employing – a manager’s guide on more than 100 specific employment topics, at www. ema.co.nz

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BusinessPlus

13

IN THE LOBBY

How the OECD sees us It’s useful to see how New Zealand’s economic management is perceived by others Recently the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – the group of world’s leading democratic economies – released its view of how New Zealand’s economy is faring.

The OECD acknowledged that New Zealand was doing reasonably well in achieving moderate growth and stability – better than many other countries.

But it also had some critical things to say about our deficiencies. It gave three main messages: 1. We’re not wealthy (in fact we are relatively poor) because we’re not skilled enough.

2. The state owns too much of our productive assets.

3. Businesses can’t get investment to grow and take part in international trade because our overseas investment rules aren’t appropriate.

The first message about why we are not wealthy is a painful one to hear.

The OECD says New Zealanders are poorer than people in other countries because of a “significant shortfall in

labour productivity”.

This doesn’t mean we are lazy or aren’t working hard enough. It means too many of us don’t have the right skills to be productive.

This is important because productivity is what makes a country competitive (or not) with other nations. A country with, say, many skilled engineers and IT workers can produce high value products more productively than one without.

What can hold a country back from being productive and therefore wealthy is not having enough relevant skills coming out of the educational system.

The message is that New Zealand is being held back by poor choices and poor outcomes in the education sector. The OECD also notes that a large number of Maori and Pasifika students are leaving school without basic skills, resulting in inequality and poverty.

How can our relative poverty - the result of poor skills - be fixed?

The OECD recommends improved standards, teaching, appraisal and

accountability in the school system, as well as better career advice and career pathways, and more help to get disadvantaged youth into training.

The second message from the OECD is that the state owns too much of New Zealand’s productive assets.

Too much state ownership and not enough overseas investment

The problem with state ownership is that it precludes commercial competition. Commercial competition drives efficiency, investment and innovation. It’s very hard to run a successful business without the incentives that competition brings.

Because of the central role that networks play in an economy, the OECD particularly recommends that New Zealand reduce government shareholding in network businesses (energy, transport and communications).

The OECD suggests selling the remaining government shareholdings in electricity generators and Air

Claw back rules overturned to favour subbies An overdue interpretation of company law sees fairness and sanity returned for payments to subcontractors.

A new Supreme Court ruling in favour of three contractor companies has overturned other court rulings on the voidable transaction (claw back) provisions in the Companies Act 1993. Those contested provisions made contractors pay back companies for work done when the latter companies were found to be insolvent at the time of paying the contractors.

In BusinessPlus (October 2013, page 7) we wrote that an appeal was being mounted to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling that would see contractors forced to pay back money for goods or services supplied

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“The Court said it was implausible that Parliament intended such an outcome as the claw back for value given” to companies that transpired to be insolvent at the time of payment (an insolvent transaction) – up to two years after the commencement of the company’s liquidation.

At issue was whether the paid companies actually did provide goods

and services (“provided value”).

This ‘claw back’ or ‘voidable transaction’ rule was designed to protect an insolvent company’s creditors as a whole against a diminution of the assets available to them.

The Court said it was implausible that Parliament intended such an outcome [as the claw back for value given, and that the claw back could happen even when a contractor/ supplier had no knowledge or reason to know about the financial difficulties].

Note that this is a court decision on particular cases; not a law change. For more information please phone AdviceLine at 0800 300 362 (within New Zealand) or 1800 300 362 (from Australia).

Phil O’Reilly

New Zealand, and privatising New Zealand Post and KiwiRail.

The OECD’s third key message was about a lack of investment holding businesses back from growing and taking part in international trade.

There is a conundrum here. New Zealand businesses have to go international in order to achieve significant growth. Becoming big enough to trade internationally requires investment – usually from overseas. Overseas investment is critically important for New Zealand business growth (as it has always been in the past).

But our overseas investment rules make it very hard to get that investment. The OECD says there should be changes to New Zealand’s screening requirements for foreign direct investment - the screening process should be more transparent and the criteria should be clearer.

The OECD also recommends removing Ministerial discretion over applications for overseas investment.

The Overseas Investment Act gives several Ministers wide powers to direct, determine, delegate, override

“The OECD is saying that we need to be able to use overseas investment to build a foundation for overseas trade” or revoke consent for any overseas investment transaction.

Having an Overseas Investment Act with unclear criteria, and with a number of Ministers able to overrule Overseas Investment Office decisions, does not give the certainty needed to attract overseas investment sufficient for growth.

There is no doubt that we must improve our skills delivery system (a.k.a. education system) urgently.

The education improvements recommended by the OECD are really important for enabling us to become more wealthy and to reduce poverty and inequality.

I would agree also with the OECD’s recommendation of further reducing state ownership of network businesses over time.

Results from part-privatisation conducted so far have been good for the bottom line of the relevant companies, and have allowed many New Zealanders to gain an ownership stake in network businesses.

The OECD is saying that we need to be able to use overseas investment to build a foundation for overseas trade.

I hope these and other recommendations by the OECD receive serious consideration.

Phil O’Reilly is Chief Executive BusinessNZ and Chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD. www.businessnz.org.nz

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BusinessPlus

15

TAX TIPS

By Jo Doolan

Taxpayer, 1: IRD, 0 In a rare taxpayer win, the High Court has given Inland Revenue (the IRD) a slap on the hand in a case involving the Inland Revenue Department Commissioner.

“The rules allow for a tax credit only to the extent that the taxpayer has New Zealand income tax to pay” This didn’t wash with the judge. The Court held the Commissioner’s power to amend assessments.

In Westpac’s case, the bank had paid foreign tax but made an error in offsetting losses with other companies without claiming the credit for the foreign taxes paid. The rules allow for a tax credit only to the extent that the taxpayer has New Zealand income tax to pay. When it discovered the error, Westpac asked the Commissioner to amend its returns.

Westpac filed a tax return in 1999 without claiming a credit for foreign tax paid, and also showing its net income fully offset against net losses received from other group companies. As a

result, Westpac could not claim a credit for the UK tax it had paid. A request to amend its self-assessment was made, and agreed by the Commissioner. From 1999 to 2007, Westpac filed income tax returns without claiming a tax credit for UK tax paid. It also did not elect to offset net losses to enable it to claim the credit once the necessary details became known. When those details were known, an amendment to the returns was requested and subsequently granted by the Commissioner.

In its 2008 to 2011 returns, due to what was described as “staff error”, Westpac changed its process and offset losses from the wider group, meaning it was again unable to obtain the benefit of foreign tax credits for the UK tax paid.

A further request was made to the Commissioner for an amendment to the self-assessments between 2008 and 2011, to limit the losses offset and allow the benefit of the UK tax to be claimed.

The Commissioner declined for two key reasons: firstly, under the legislation, a loss offset election is irrevocable.

Secondly, the loss offset, as originally made, was a legally valid option, ie, it was not incorrect. The Commissioner was unable to amend the assessments as

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BusinessPlus

REMUNERATION CONSULTANCY

The case involved the Commissioner’s discretion when taxpayers make selfassessment errors and fail to rectify them within four months of filing the return.

The case involved Westpac as the taxpayer. For a variety of reasons (including “staff error”), the bank had failed for several years to claim credits for foreign taxes it had paid. It applied to the Commissioner for a reassessment but was turned down.

Where the taxpayer is relying on the Commissioner’s discretion, and exercising her discretion would produce a tax refund or a more advantageous tax position, the trend has been for the Commissioner to refuse these requests.

This may be because the Commissioner has an obligation to collect the highest possible amount of tax.

In making these decisions, the Commissioner refers to a policy outlining the circumstances under which she will use her discretion. One of the no-go zones is where a taxpayer chooses a legally valid tax position and later regrets it, termed “regretted choice”. On top of this the Commissioner also must be satisfied that the previous position was incorrect.

TAX TIPS Claire Dilks

requested because the “regretted choice” was not incorrect.

Rethink needed on companies correcting their errors

There needs to be a rethink around the treatment of requests for amended assessments and the use of the Commissioner’s discretion.

At present, it appears the IRD too often takes a high-handed and adversarial approach, rather than considering what is fair and acting consistently with a broader policy perspective.

There should also be less hostility to requests to reopen prior year assessments. Yes, we know the tax take is slower than expected and the government needs every tax dollar it can get. But, for the long-term integrity of the system, taxpayers are entitled to pay no more than they have to.

In the real world, mistakes happen and mistakes such as Westpac’s are

“There should be an opportunity for these errors to be corrected in a cost effective way” not uncommon. There should be an opportunity for these errors to be corrected in a cost effective way.

Advisors love making money from these types of disputes but should this type of matter end up in court? Or should it have been resolved at a much earlier stage?

The concept of regretted choice should be reviewed, along with the overuse of the care and management

provisions of the legislation, designed to prevent decisions favourable to taxpayers.

Issues and tax disputes should be dealt with far more efficiently and effectively. Compromise on both sides is necessary to resolve disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner, meaning the Commissioner needs the flexibility to consider the overall benefit. This should be clearly mandated by giving her an unambiguous authority. Without this, the integrity of the tax system is undermined and turned into a battle dominated by the biggest chequebook rather than focusing on the best solution.

Joanna Doolan is a Tax Partner with EY and Claire Dilks is a Senior Tax Manager with EY. If you have any queries email us at joanna.doolan@ nz.ey.com claire.dilks@nz.ey.com

Resolving complaints about power & gas Businesses with complaints about electricity and gas companies can seek resolution through the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner (EGCC) scheme.

One business’ electricity bill of almost $7,000 was reduced by 40% after the Commission looked at the problem.

The business had received a back bill of nearly $7,000 because the electricity retailer had been unable to find the meter. The business made several calls to the retailer about the address, and after nine months the retailer finally read the meter. The business complained to the retailer, and when the dispute was not able to be resolved, the business contacted the EGCC. The EGCC worked with the parties to find a settlement. The retailer apologised, reduced the back bill by 40%, and allowed the business eight months to pay the balance.

The EGCC is the dispute resolution scheme for the electricity and gas sector. It can consider complaints from anyone, including businesses. It works with the parties to resolve complaints and if the parties cannot reach agreement, the Commissioner can.

In another case, a business almost any complaint billed just over $8,000 for about a member company. damage to overhead lines, Common issues include sought the assistance of the switching from one company EGCC. After investigating to another, unexplained high the issues, the Commissioner bills, disconnection and recommended the electricity reconnection and a company company cancel the bill. damaging your property when The business had been it enters your land.

Judi Jones, moving equipment and the The Commissioner cannot EGC Complaints Commissioner look at price, as companies electricity lines company gave instructions on how the can make their own load could be moved, even providing a commercial decisions about what to truck to accompany the load as it was charge. However, she can check that moved along the road. Despite this, the a company has applied the right price load damaged the lines, and the lines and provided accurate information company asked the business to pay. about the price. But you can make The EGCC looked into the a complaint about a power or gas issues and obtained advice from an company’s actions on your land, or in independent expert. The Commissioner marketing its services. concluded the lines company should The EGCC can look at complaints have taken more care when supervising where the amount in dispute is up to the load, and the business should not $50,000, and this can be extended have to pay the bill. Both the lines to $100,000 if the electricity or gas company and the business accepted the company agrees.

Commissioner’s recommendation.

For more information on the What sorts of complaints complaint process, contact the EGCC at: can the Commissioner deal Freephone: 0800 22 33 40 with?

Email: info@egcomplaints.co.nz The Commissioner can look into Web: www.egcomplaints.co.nz BusinessPlus

17

Reduce the financial sting of looming terminal tax payment A number of businesses will have terminal tax due for the 2014 income year on April 7th.

If that was not bad enough, many may have also incurred Inland Revenue (IRD) interest and late payment penalties on their underpaid liability.

However, there is an IRD-approved method allowing you to minimise the financial pain this can cause.

Tax pooling is used by a growing number of businesses to manage exposure to IRD interest and late payment penalties – and it is a system which PricewaterhouseCoopers recently concluded in an independent review that is operating efficiently and valued by taxpayers.

New Zealand’s largest and oldest tax pooling company, Tax Management NZ (TMNZ), has helped more than 25,000 small and medium sized businesses save more than $70 million in IRD compliance costs since its inception in 2003.

When businesses settle their underpaid tax through TMNZ, late payment penalties will be eliminated and IRD interest costs reduced by up to 30%.

A business with underpaid income

tax of $5000 would save $1080 in late payment penalties and $145 in IRD interest if they bought this tax from TMNZ in April.

Tax pooling can be used up to 75 days after their terminal tax date to settle underpaid 2014 income tax liabilities.

Pay May 7th provisional tax when it suits the business

If April 7th terminal tax was not bad enough, the IRD will be expecting many businesses to pay their final instalment of provisional tax for the 2015 income year on May 7th.

This can be a somewhat untimely double-whammy – even more so when you consider the taxman will charge late payment penalties of up to 20% per annum and use of money interest (UOMI) of 8.4% if they do not pay.

However, as well as being able to reduce the financial sting of underpaid tax, tax pooling can also be used by businesses to better manage cash flow.

That’s because they can put an arrangement in place that allows

businesses to defer an upcoming provisional tax payment to a time which suits them, without incurring late payment penalties and UOMI. Rates are favourable compared to many traditional forms of finance, with TMNZ’s rates starting from less than 6%.

It costs just $143 to defer a $5000 provisional tax payment for six months.

Approval is guaranteed. Businesses only pay for the tax they need and the finance arrangement can be easily extended.

What is tax pooling?

Tax pooling framework was developed

by TMNZ founder Ian Kuperus after the IRD sought ways to reduce businesses’ compliance costs.

Tax paid through a tax pool is transferable, so overpayers can sell any surplus tax to those which have underpaid.

A tax pooling intermediary facilitates the trading between buyers and sellers.

Tax pool funds are held at the IRD and overseen by an independent trustee.

ISO’s first Standard to protect personal data in the cloud A new international Standard should give cloud users confidence that their service provider is wellplaced to keep data private and secure, says Professor Edward Humphreys, convenor of the ISO working group responsible for information security management Standards.

The Standard is called “ISO/ IEC 27018:2014 Information technology –Security techniques– Code of practice for protection of personally identifiable information (PII)”, the first-ever Standard to deal with the protection

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BusinessPlus

of personal data for the cloud.

Prof Humphreys says organisations need to have assurance in the underlying cloud provider. “Many users may not understand that they need to select a cloud service provider that has good governance over the processing of personal data.

Those who do know this may have difficulty knowing how to verify that good governance is in place.

This situation can lead to increased risks for the protection of personal data.”

When considering a cloud

computing service, users should double-check that their cloud provider has adopted appropriate security measures and remains transparent about its data processing practices - starting with a data processing agreement, which outlines the governance process and important issues that may be relevant to meeting their legal obligations.

Read more about the terminology and architecture of ISO’s first cloud computing Standards at http://www.standards.co.nz

RETIREMENT

By David Shannon BusinessPlus Series: This is the third article in our series on Retirement Planning.

Phased retirement: a new approach Our previous article discussed the looming crisis of global ageing. In the years ahead, governments will be seeking strategies to meet the needs of the growing numbers of elderly people without straining their economies or overtaxing the young.

This will include encouraging longer work lives.

Ageing gracefully, ageing wisely

The 2013 New Zealand census figures show that 48% of men and 33% of women aged between 65 and 69 are still in full or part-time employment. Further, 27% of men aged 70 to 74 are still working to some degree.

We are all keenly aware of the importance of age. We do not expect to act or behave or feel at 50 as we did at 20, nor at 80 as we did at 50. In facing the inevitable changes we have to ask whether our government understands the challenges and opportunities that may confront us, their constituents.

More importantly, do we understand what’s ahead for us? Are we ready to adopt changed practices to respond effectively to being older? Those who plan ahead will be the ones who succeed in ageing gracefully and wisely.

It is often suggested humans are genetically hard-wired to keep going. There is nothing that says we have to quit work at the magical age of 65. The traditional notion of fulltime retirement at any specific age is becoming less relevant.

The baby boomer generation is increasingly expressing their intent to remain in the workforce as part of a more phased approach to fulltime retirement though more and more frequently, this work will not necessarily be with their current employer, or even in the same profession or occupation.

One of the biggest reasons for extending our working lives beyond

the traditional retirement age is the obvious financial need. As pointed out previously, neither the current nor any projected national superannuation plan is going to make up that difference.

However, finances are only one aspect of a phased retirement. A gradual transition away from full-time work to something less demanding provides individuals with greater flexibility, and more time to try activities that could eventually become part of their full-time retirement. These may include social, artistic, community, recreation or sporting activities, which may not have been previously considered. Seniors take up newto-them activities frequently today, often providing rigorous competition to their younger colleagues.

Moreover, unlike full-time retirement, phased retirement permits the individual to make adjustments for age-related changes in stamina or ability without sacrificing social networks, earnings, and a sense of being productive.

Forms of phased retirement

• Same job with reduced hours • Part time work in a different field • A new patchwork career • Working on contract • Self-employment • Something else

Whether or not it becomes necessary to move away from the use of a long term skill set in an occupation, a strategy for continuing to work is absolutely necessary.

Perhaps a complete break from past work is in order. Those who do try something new more often than not succeed and enjoy the change.

Today there is less prejudice against older workers in the workforce so the opportunities for continuing to work beyond the traditional retirement age are common.

Employers increasingly recognise that retaining senior workers is a sound business move since it can ensure valuable skills and knowledge are not lost in the face of the decreasing supply of younger workers.

Another option is to become self-employed which can offer other advantages: • Independence -setting one’s own hours; • Potential tax benefits - exemptions for expenses, depreciation, etc; • Personal satisfaction – greater motivation and excitement from the work performed; • Personal achievement – an increased sense of succeeding.

In summary, the change in the population structure is creating a tsunami of workers reaching retirement age while birth rates are declining. The change will lead many employers to seek ways to hang on, or even recruit older employees.

It is crucial to remember work is what keeps us going, gives life purpose and meaning - play is the well-deserved treat, and the rewarding part of a fulfilling life.

The key to that continuing, rewarding life might mean giving up your current job, but don’t stop working. Work for reward and pleasure in equal measure, and for as long as you choose.

Next Month: Physical changes and myths about health, managing health in retirement, stress and mental health issues, your partner’s situation.

For more information on Retirement Planning and the availability of seminars for your employees, contact David Shannon, daveshan@xtra.co.nz or phone 027-600-8793. www.pretire.co.nz BusinessPlus

19

Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 The Amendment takes effect on 6 March 2015.

The following is a brief summary of the key details.

Flexible Working Arrangements The right to request flexible working arrangements is extended to all workers at any time. The restrictions around who can apply, the duration of employment required, and the number of requests allowed in a time period have been removed.

An employer must notify the employee in writing of their decision no later than 1 month after receiving the request.

Good faith The requirement to give employees who are subject to restructuring information about other employees has been amended.

Employees have the right to information about themselves however employers are not required to provide an affected employee with confidential information about another identifiable individual if doing so would involve an unwarranted disclosure of the affairs of that individual.

Collective bargaining Employers may opt out of multi-employer collective bargaining.

The anomaly where there are different time frames for unions and employers to initiate collective bargaining has been fixed so the timeframe is the same for both parties.

Specified pay deductions are allowed in cases of partial strike action based on either an actual calculation or a flat 10%.

Notice of an intended strike or lockout must be provided in writing.

The amendment repeals the application of the collective agreement terms for the first 30 days, but everything else remains in place.

Employers still need to advise new employees of the existence of a collective agreement.

If the employee joins the union they will be covered by the collective agreement.

Part 6A – Vulnerable workers Part 6A relates to a specific group of workers, often referred to as ‘vulnerable workers’ involved in contracting such as cleaning or food catering services.

The legislation exempts employers with less than 20 employees from this law and makes a number of other amendments for those still covered to provide more clarity around the obligations of employers in a transfer situation.

The amendments include requirements for:

A party to collective bargaining that has been on-going and unable to be settled can apply to the Authority for bargaining to be declared at an end. There is a criterion that must be met which requires the parties to have bargained extensively and, as far as appropriate, have used all the avenues available to achieve a settlement.

If bargaining is declared to be at an end, there is a 60 day cooling-off period before bargaining can be re-initiated.

Rest and Meal breaks

BusinessPlus

Rest breaks are paid, meal breaks are unpaid

•

The timing and duration of breaks is as agreed or at employer’s direction

•

Breaks appropriate for the duration of the employee’s work period

•

Restrictions are permitted

•

Where there are no breaks provided then reasonable compensatory measures are required

•

Parties must deal with each other in good faith

New Employees – non-union members

The duty of good faith does not require a collective agreement to be concluded or for the parties to continue bargaining if they have reached a deadlock. However, an employer does not comply with the duty of good faith if they refuse to enter into a collective agreement because they are opposed, or object in principle, to bargaining for or being a party to a collective agreement.

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•

•

Setting timeframes for employees to elect to transfer to the new employer

•

The provision of information by the current employer to the new employer

•

A process for dealing with the liability for costs of service-related entitlements of transferring employees

The rest and meal breaks provisions will provide some flexibility to enable service and production continuity while still ensuring breaks are provided for.

Key considerations: •

Employees are entitled to and must be provided with rest breaks and meal breaks

Employment Relations Authority The Authority will be required to give its oral determination or an oral indication of it preliminary findings wherever practicable at the conclusion of an investigation meeting.

Oral determinations are required wherever practicable with a written version required within one month. Where an oral determination is not given, a written determination must be issued within three months unless exceptional circumstances apply.

The Authority may reserve its determination of a matter if it is satisfied that there are good reasons as to why it is not practicable for it to provide an oral determination or an oral indication of its preliminary findings at the conclusion of the investigation meeting.

The Bill is available online at www.legislation. govt.nz or here This is only a guide. It should not be used as a substitute for professional advice.

Contact Us Free call AdviceLine, NZ 0800 300 362 AU 1800 300 362 E-mail advice@ema.co.nz Visit our website www.ema.co.nz Follow us on twitter.com/ema_nrthn

Parental leave changes April 2015 Since the government’s Budget announcement in 2014, plans have been underway to implement changes to the paid parental leave scheme. Some of the changes will occur on 1 April 2015, others on 1 April 2016, and more are yet to be finalised. The purpose of this update is to help you understand what these changes mean for your business.

Changes commencing 1 April 2015 Currently an employee who meets the eligibility criteria can take 14 weeks’ maternity leave. On 1 April 2015 the length of maternity leave will increase to 16 weeks.

This leave is currently paid at a maximum of $504.10 per week, reviewed in July each year.

For employees opting to receive the Parental Tax Credit (rather than paid parental leave), the rate will increase on 1 April 2015 from $150 per week to $220 per week. The payment period will also extend from eight weeks to 10 weeks.

Changes commencing 1 April 2016 On 1 April 2016 maternity leave will increase from 16 weeks to 18 weeks. Other changes have been signalled (as below), but have not yet been confirmed into law.

How will the increase work?

An employee who meets the eligibility criteria for paid parental leave will be entitled to 16 weeks’ maternity leave if: •

The expected date of delivery of the child is on or after 1 April 2015; or

•

The child is born on or after 1 April 2015; or

•

In the case of adoption, the date on which the employee/their spouse assumes care of the child with a view to adoption is on or after 1 April 2015.

The 2016 increase will apply in a similar manner, taking into account the above factors in relation to 1 April 2016.

If the baby is due before 1 April 2015, but arrives after this date, what happens?

The employee can apply for 14 weeks’ paid maternity leave as the due date is not “on or after 1 April 2015”. If the baby arrives after 1 April, the employee will be entitled to the full 16 weeks’ paid maternity leave. You should consider this possibility if your employee’s due date falls close to 1 April, and discuss together what arrangements might need to be made.

If the baby is due after 1 April 2015, but arrives before this date, what happens?

The expected date of delivery is “on or after 1 April 2015”, and so the employee may apply for 16 weeks’ paid maternity leave. If the baby arrives before 1 April, the employee is still entitled to take (and be paid for) 16 weeks as she still meets the criteria for 16 weeks’ leave.

Does this affect the overall length of parental leave?

No. An eligible employee is able to take a maximum of 52 weeks’ parental leave, which is inclusive of the 16 weeks of maternity leave. This can be extended in certain situations (for example, if the employee starts her maternity leave early), but in all cases the parental leave will end when the child turns 1 year old.

A further proposed change is to allow employees on parental leave more flexibility to return to work during their leave for activities like training or planning days, or the occasional day of work, without the return jeopardising their ongoing parental leave payments.

At this stage these proposals have not been passed into law. EMA will keep members updated on any changes as they occur.

Further assistance Consider whether your employees might be affected by this year’s changes to parental leave. We have further information about parental leave available in our A-Z Guide to Parental Leave, accessible on the EMA website www.ema.co.nz EMA will update its parental leave template letters closer to 1 April 2015. In the meantime if you would like further assistance, contact AdviceLine on 0800 300 362 in New Zealand or 1800 300 362 if calling from Australia.

This is only a guide. It should not be used as a substitute for professional advice.

Other proposed changes The government announced in the 2014 Budget that paid parental leave will become available for other permanent carers, including permanent foster carers, people who have permanent guardianship, and grandparents caring for grandchildren.

Also proposed was the extending of payments (but not leave) to those who have worked an average of at least 10 hours per week over any 26 of the previous 52 weeks.

This is designed to capture those who have recently changed jobs, seasonal or casual workers, and those with more than one employer.

Contact Us Free call AdviceLine, NZ 0800 300 362 AU 1800 300 362 E-mail advice@ema.co.nz Visit our website www.ema.co.nz Follow us on twitter.com/ema_nrthn BusinessPlus

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New export readiness check – free, member-only service

How export fit are you? Let us help you find out. The ExportNZ Excelerator Programme has been developed by exporters for exporters.

The first step of engagement with Excelerator Programme is via our online survey. The survey covers all areas of exporting, divided up into these 11 sections (167 questions): 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Reasons for exporting Current status External Analysis – environment External Analysis – customer External Analysis – competitors External Analysis – industry Internal Analysis – performance Internal Analysis – product Internal Analysis – finance Internal Analysis – logistics Internal Analysis – intellectual property The survey is designed to identify those areas where ExportNZ can help build your export capability and ensure you are export fit!

It will also provide a score to benchmark you against New Zealand’s top exporters. The process allows you to print off your results and review each section.

The outcome of your survey rating will determine next steps for which your local ExportNZ office will: • Point you in the right direction to talk to a qualified advisor with expertise in the area where you may require assistance, or suggest attending an export education workshop to address the gaps in your export capability. ExportNZ will help build your export fitness qualifying you for the export mentor programme.

• Suggest to those companies demonstrating strong export capability, that you engage

in the ExportNZ mentor programme The focussed mentoring programme will provide the connections and capability to accelerate your exports further into suitable and sustainable overseas markets.

Mini Excelerator

The Mini Excelerator gives you insights from the full ExportNZ Excelerator survey.

Visit www.hookedonexport.co.nz to complete the Mini Excelerator survey of 13 questions and read about the full Excelerator Programme.

For more information please contact Catherine Lye, ExportNZ Auckland executive officer at email catherine@ exportnz.org.nz or phone 09-367 0970.

Entries open for export awards The countdown has begun to our annual celebration of our brave and bountiful exporters. Entries to the 2015 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards Auckland are open now.

Entries open for the 2015 Bay of Plenty ExportNZ Awards on March 24.

Ask ExportNZ Auckland for an entry form now – it’s simple and free to take part. The benefits of entering include: • Public recognition of your company for impressing customers and investors; • It’s a way to reward, retain and attract the best talent; • Exposure to our world-class lineup of judges.

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Entering also gives you the opportunity to take part in two outstanding events: • The entrants cocktail event to announce finalists, held on Wednesday, April 22; • The Gala Awards Dinner at The Langham Auckland hotel on Thursday, June 18.

Entering the Awards is easy!

Just select the category at hookedonexport.co.nz that you want to enter.

Make sure you also visit the Hooked on Export website to find: • What previous winners have to say

• Critical entry and event dates • Entry categories • Judges’ profiles

Want to know more? Not sure of which category to enter?

Just let ExportNZ know when you register that you’d like us to contact you and we’ll be in touch to discuss which categories you’re best suited to.

Entries close at 5pm, Friday, March 20, 2015. Please email enquiries to: catherine@exportnz.org.nz

Letter from Australia Marketing Specialist Bella Katz

Holding fast to (less profitable) principles Australia has been reflecting on, and reassessing some meaty topics over the past few weeks.

Those topics have been, for example, whether we’ll have the same Prime Minister when we wake up in the morning, the nature of our relationship with Indonesia, and the safety of the food we put into our mouths.

That last one has some serious reputational repercussions for New Zealand. And New Zealand’s response? Crickets.

In the fallout of the Nanna’s berries contamination drama, New Zealand is being tainted with the same brush as nations of dubious health-claim reliability such as China, Chile and Mexico.

There’s a persistent murmur that food coming from New Zealand into Australia is “greenwashed”: that it says New Zealand on the label, but the product comes from other countries, is packaged and mixed with New Zealand products and lands on Australian shelves with a ‘Made in NZ’ badge.

With Coles and Woolworths singing each day about their low, low, cheap, cheap prices, we can all be forgiven for getting swept away in the race to the bottom.

But as that old adage says, you get what you pay for.

This whole fiasco bothers me

personally and professionally.

Personally, I’ve noticed that too many items in the supermarkets don’t taste quite as good as they used to. And professionally I empathise with the dilemma facing my clients’ and others in the price game. Especially when they’re trying to win new business and some compromise is necessary.

Shortcuts cost

In the case of supermarkets we, as customers, talk the big talk about health and fair trade, but in large are unprepared to pay for it.

So the retailers respond to what their customer research tells them.

Meanwhile the manufacturers and, in this case, growers try to make a living while perpetually squeezed for profits.

Something has to give and it always does.

This shonky business of prices and principles applies equally to every single industry and we’re all left asking – is it worth it?

From manufacturers to farmers to professional service providers and everyone else in between, if we don’t have our reputation, what’s left?

I’d like to say there are real winds of change blowing through Australia. Australians are prepared to

permanently change their behaviour in order to support the businesses with the best records and practices. And even if cyclic, I think this desire to seek out the honest is yet to fully realise.

New Zealand had, and still continues to enjoy, the long tail of association with being clean and green.

That enviable tag extends to the people, the companies and almost everything else to come out of Aotearoa.

If that means you reassess your own business shortcuts and compromises, it may cost you more today but end up saving your business in the long term.

• Bella Katz is an Australia-based brand and marketing consultant and advises New Zealand companies exporting to Australia. She is also a New Zealand expat, calling Australia home for over a decade. +61 (0) 410 400 657 bella@bellakatz.com.au Bella on LinkedIn www.bellakatz.com.au

Food safety centre developing fast The Centre, a partnership between industry, Government and research providers, is being developed in a process of ‘co-innovation’.

The interim director is Nigel French from Massey University with interim co-director Gale Brightwell from AgResearch.

The Centre is hosted by Massey University in partnership with AgResearch, Environmental Science and Research Ltd, Plant & Food, the Cawthron Institute, Auckland University and Otago University.

Industry bodies, companies and agribusinesses, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry

for Primary Industries have met to discuss setting up an industry programme aiming to explore the food safety environment along the value/supply chain in the different food sectors.

Sector specific workshops were held in February along with the compiling of industry lists in meat, seafood, dairy, horticulture and processing and manufacturing.

owned NZ Food Safety Research Strategy.

Then a business plan for the management of the Centre is to be developed accompanied by research theme workshops to develop a 5-year research plan, and to compile an inventory of relevant food safety expertise, equipment and other resources across all research and industry organisations in New Zealand.

Plans

How can you get involved?

The plan from here is to appoint members of the Stakeholder Consultation/Advisory Group, appoint members of the International Science Advisory Group and develop a co-

Contact Lorraine Bergen (L.Bergen@massey.ac.nz) and let others know, or contact Professor Nigel French, Ph 06 356 9099 ex 85037, email: N.P.French@massey.ac.nz BusinessPlus

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TRAVELLING WITH A PURPOSE

By David Lowe Former EMA Advocacy Manager, David Lowe, reports on his experiences in Timor-L’este where he is now located helping build an industry association under a VSA programme.

Timor-L’este

– the world’s youngest nation Timor-L’este is the youngest nation on the planet, born in 2002. It is mostly a smiling nation at the bottom of the key OECD tables.

It is also a nation with political and law and order systems still evolving. They are on the right track but inexperienced.

The Prime Minister resigned and was replaced by a senior opposition person, effectively eliminating a Parliamentary Opposition, akin to John Key [National] being replaced by [Labour’s] David Parker with a few Labour MPs joining the National cabinet: an extraordinary handover without an election or a coup.

When the police stopped me for driving the wrong way up an unsigned one-way street, they were at least concerned enough to require me to drive to where there were no onlookers before extorting $60 from me.

Timor-Leste is home to thousands of aid workers and this inexperience is why we are here.

With vast oil and gas reserves that Australia has been mining amid some controversy, Timor-Leste has developed a Petroleum Fund designed to ensure these one-off riches are not frittered away. The Government single-handedly keeps the economy rolling with the petroleum funded rebuild programme.

However the oil fields are not endless and there is a need for a Plan B. There are many, many Timorese businesses, mostly at a subsistence level, which bring at least some money into their households. Veteran freedom fighters are one of the few groups entitled to any welfare.

The main city of Dili, population approximately 200,000, is on the whole very poor but there are business magnates who have done extremely well from when the United Nations was stationed here, and now there is the Government rebuild programme.

The remaining one million Timorese outside Dili largely eek out a living

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on their land with roads in such poor condition they cannot get their goods to market. Instead they sit on the dusty roadside waiting for a passer-by to purchase them.

The owner of The Box, a small retail establishment, is 24 and lives about 20 metres from my home in Dili. He is amongst the 70% of unemployed youth but has a small business selling petrol

– its the ‘in place’ for drinks on a Friday night.

The big end of business has built its success primarily on Government construction contracts to rebuild the nation funded by the Petroleum Fund.

They then diversify into other sectors to become successful entrepreneurs. Their market is not the majority of locals but those lucky enough to have a job, expats,

in plastic bottles on the side of the road.

People unable to buy a tank of fuel all at once purchase 1.5 litres or 500 mls.

He also sells paraffin for home cooking fires and lighting. He sells about four large bottles a day and about seven smaller bottles. After purchasing the fuel from the local gas station he nets on average $5.20 for a 14 hour day. He sits all day with his loud music, English language book and many cousins for company, even on Christmas Day. His goal is to earn enough to get a Portugese passport which all Timorese are entitled to. Portugal, as part of the EU provides free passage to London where all his dreams will come true.

My work place is in the same building as the Portugese Embassy and there are hundreds of young people waiting around all day hoping for a trip to London. My motorbike has waited 18 months for number plates yet to arrive, so you can imagine how long a passport might take.

At the other end of town is Timor Plaza, a five story modern building that houses a mall, a food court, Gloria Jean’s, a Burger King, hotel and Sky Bar

and of course the Government.

The way to Timorese hearts is through family and community. Rules and compliance do not have the same persuasion. But unfortunately corruption is a confronting issue where I have had to decide whether to take the moral high ground and risk achieving nothing, or do what I can to nibble away at it while actually doing some good in other areas.

But for now it’s an evening walk into the steep beautiful hills, through local villages with nothing but smiles and children who chorus “malay, malay” (foreigner) running for a high five, or along the beach past those selling carefully selected rocks from the seashore to landscapers at the other end of town.

For $1 I get more BBQ chicken from a road stall than I can eat and give the left overs to the dogs and pigs living in my yard which would otherwise eat from discarded nappies and follow young children about waiting for their call of nature.

Next month: Import tariffs - Are they a necessary tax for a developing nation?

Member PROFILE

By Mary MacKinven

Adventurer makes waves Former South Canterbury farm boy and jet boat fiend Paul Macaulay has reluctantly become a JAFA, with the success of his Auckland Adventure Jet business making waves on the Waitemata Harbour.

Every time Paul came to Auckland to visit his wife’s family, driving over the Auckland harbour bridge he always bemoaned a lack of jet boating on the water below. When his wife dared him to set up such an operation himself, he did.

The pair holds 51% of the shares, with investors and an independent director forming the governance body that runs the business with strict strategic and safety values. Paul was appointed chief executive.

The jet boat ride first blasted off in 2010 with their amphibious ‘duck bus’ on land and sea since last October.

Initially the five Auckland authorities that controlled different aspects of the waterfront did not share Paul’s enthusiasm for the venture.

He says, “If I get a ‘no’, it makes me work hard for a ‘yes’.”

Soon after, he approached Auckland Transport and the timing was right with plans afoot to revitalise the waterfront. Paul got permission for his pontoon and kiosk. After another

The second boat, the duck bus, took two years to build from a US design for Auckland Adventure Jet. It carries 34 people of all ages, including babies. The one-hour ride starts on land touring along Auckland’s waterfront before the duck bus splashes into the water to cruise around the harbour for viewing the city and Auckland’s Harbour Bridge from a different perspective. It travels at 5 knots in the water to ensure a peaceful and enjoyable cruise.

Paul says, “We are in the business of entertainment, not just tourism or jet boat rides.

So we make sure everything is comfortable and people walk away having had a great experience.”

Husband and wife owners of Adventure Jet, Cheryl and Paul Macaulay The oldest passenger has been an impressive 97 years old with 18 months of hard slog getting the jet people from all walks of life enjoying boat designed in Sydney and made in the fast but low-impact ride.

Christchurch, the vessel slid into the Auckland Adventure Jet also offers water. a range of tailor-made corporate

events, such as team building charter rides that can include time in a room at Orams Boat Park above where people can board the jet boat.

Companies can fly their own flags off the back of the boat or wrap their logos around the hull for negotiable periods of time.

In the quieter winter months the company operates educational programmes and rides for school children, with a focus on boating safety and sustainability – and goody bags for the kids.

These days Paul enjoys the support of Tourism NZ, Auckland Tourism and ATEED on compliance and development. He has another boat in the pipeline.

At the time of going to print Auckland Adventure Jet was a contender to win the Best of the Best Greater Auckland Marketing Award from the national Westpac business award series, having won the Best in Marketing Award at the Auckland central business awards for the past two years.

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Out & About

Seen @ Health and Safety Representative Training, and Consumer and Trading Laws Workshop - Auckland

Arlee Turner and Anne Dickson [Auckland Libraries]

Janice Berry [Auto Electrical Spares] and Lorraine Coe [USL Medical]

Sara Dunn [ Auckland Council]

Jeanette Barker [Auckland Botanic Gardens], Amber Bennett and Richard Davis [Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development]

Wayne Pointon [Debitsuccess]

Sales Skills, Conflict Resolution and National Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety (Level 3) - Auckland

Guillaume de Rouvroy [Canadian Pacific] and Leonardo Corso [Chillisoft]

Keith McConnell [EMA] and Mike West [Tapper Transport]

Genia Znarok [NZ Steel] and Nick Bell [Whakatane Mill]

Jill Smee [NZ Steel] and Ian Davis [ Buckley Systems]

Delwyn Dellow [University of Waikato] and Rhiannon McLeod [BSH Home Appliances]

Grant Prujean-Smith [Amcor], Jaine Curran [Upright Access Systems] and Chelsea Cohen [Livingstone Building]

Karen Toone [Whakatane Mill]

Simon Paris [Kiwi Rail]

Gavin Smith [Air Nelson]

MEMBER NOTICEBOARD

Crisis and counselling charity seeks corporate angels Auckland charitable trust Counselling Services Centre is making a plea to businesses for financial donations, or for donations of goods and services, to help cover a shortfall of Government funding.

This summer, the Centre was grateful for the donation of portable air conditioners on a short-term basis from a supportive business.

“These would have been expensive; this support helped us save precious funds. They were necessary for the comfort of our clients and counsellors”, says agency manager Jo Morgan (pictured).

“We would gratefully receive six permanent air conditioners/ heat pumps, as going forward these would also serve to keep winter heating costs down,” says Jo. For 26 years, the Centre has been providing a crisis response service for men, women and child victims of sexual violence, working closely alongside police and other support agencies. The Centre’s team also offers most forms of counselling to people in the Counties Manukau region of Auckland.

Members of the crisis team support victims during police statement-taking, forensic medical treatment and examinations, and arrange follow-up support or counselling at the agency as necessary.

The organisation was established to deal specifically with victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault.

Over time the service has broadened to include whose lives are affected by domestic and family violence, homicide, relationship difficulties, grief, addiction, depression or anxiety to people living in the Counties Manukau/South Auckland district.

The agency has a team of 21 staff including Jo, two administration team members, a 24/7 crisis response team and counselling team.

Jo says, “We receive government funding for which we are grateful, however, there is an annual shortfall of approximately $300,000 and there

• •

•

Jo Morgan

is so much more we would like to be able to provide for our clients.”

For the comfort and wellbeing of clients, the agency is planning a refurbishment of its rented premises in Papatoetoe and is delighted to have the help of carpet and paint manufacturers and tradespeople.

“We are hopeful that through the generosity of businesses, we will create a more modern, calming and welcoming environment for our clients and staff,” she says.

Wish List

For those interested, here is the Centre’s wish List: • Six heat-pumps for the counselling rooms and main office; • New couches, chairs and coffee tables for counselling rooms and waiting room; • Artwork for rooms; • Funding for a new client database; • Graphic design services • Printing services for letterhead, brochures, business cards, etc; • Advertising agency services (as the Centre is embarking on a rebranding campaign);

Water-blasting services for outside areas; Products that the Centre can on sell through auctions, such as end of lines, clearance items, out of season goods or samples. It could be tyres, cosmetics, toys, homewares, power tools, almost anything!

Retail premises for an ‘Op Shop’ where the Centre can raise funds through selling high quality second-hand and new items, such as, clothing, accessories and furniture.

Board support

And last but not least is a request for people.

“We are currently seeking to appoint new board members in a voluntary capacity. The skillsets we are looking for include legal and accounting, and individuals with business connections and networks.”

Currently there is a board of five long term members.

Employee assistance

The Centre also provides Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) services to local businesses.

The EAP programme provides counsellors who help employees deal with a wide range of issues that could or may impact on their ability to perform in the workplace, eg, personal relationships, grief and loss, and physical, emotional and psychological ill-health, abuse and addiction, or any other personal difficulties.

Employers should contact Jo to find out more about the EAP services that are offered for businesses, and for any offers of support.

Email: manager@csnz.org.nz Visit www.cscnz.org.nz for more information.

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SCHEDULE FREE for all EMA members | To register call AdviceLine on 0800 300 362 or email AdviceLine@ema.co.nz

Summer Briefings Schedule 2015 Auckland Day/Date

Time

Venue

Mon. 9th March

7.30am - 9.00am

EMA, 159 Khyber Pass Rd, GRAFTON (Boardroom)

GRAFTON

Mon. 9th March

2.00pm - 3.30pm

Waipuna Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Rd (Cole Theatre)

MT WELLINGTON

Mon. 9th March

4.00pm - 5.30pm

Waipuna Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Rd (Cole Theatre)

MT WELLINGTON

Tuesday 10th March

9.30am - 11.00am

Quality Hotel Lincoln Green, 159 Lincoln Rd

HENDERSON

Fri. 13th March

2.00pm - 3.30pm

ELLERSLIE EVENT CENTRE, 80 Ascot Ave

REMUERA

Fri. 13th March

4.00pm - 5.30pm

ELLERSLIE EVENT CENTRE, 80 Ascot Ave

REMUERA

Friday 20th March

2.30pm - 4.00pm

Bruce Pulman Park, Teamsports Centre, Walters Rd

PAPAKURA

Mon. 23rd March

9.30am - 11.00am

Titirangi Golf Club, Links Rd (Club House Lounge)

NEW LYNN

Mon. 23rd March

3.00pm - 4.30pm

Crowne Plaza Auckland, 128 Albert St (Ballroom 1)

AUCKLAND CBD

Tues. 24th March

9.30am - 11.00am

Counties Inn, 17 Paerata Rd (Rata Lounge)

PUKEKOHE

Weds. 25th March

9.30am - 11.00am

QBE Stadium, ASB North, Stadium Drive (Level 1 Nth Lounge & Waiake Rm)

ALBANY

Weds. 25th March

3.00pm - 4.30pm

Bruce Mason Centre, 1 The Promenade (Hauraki Gulf Rooms 1-3)

TAKAPUNA

Thurs. 26th March

9.30am - 11.00am

Sudima Auckland Airport, 18 Airpark Drive, Airport Oaks (Pavilion Room 1)

AUCKLAND

Frid 27th March

9.30am - 11.00am

Waipuna Conference Suites, 60 Highbrook Drive (Highbrook Suite 2)

EAST TAMAKI

Friday 27th March

3.00pm - 4.30pm

EMA, Room 2C, 159 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton

AUCKLAND

Day/Date

Time

Venue

Weds. 11th March

3:00pm - 4:30pm

The Northerner, Corner North Road & Kohuhu St

KAITAIA

Thurs. 12th March

9:00am - 10:30am

SCENIC HOTEL BAY OF ISLANDS, 58 Seaview Rd

PAIHIA

Thurs. 12th March

1:30pm - 3:00pm

Kingsgate Hotel Whangarei, 9 Riverside Drive

WHANGAREI

Friday 13th March

2.00pm - 3.00pm

Webinar, www.ema.webex.com

Northland

Waikato / BOP Day/Date

Time

Venue

Mon. 16th March

9.30am - 11.00am

The Junction Hotel, Function Room, 700 Pollen St

THAMES

Mon. 16th March

3.00pm - 4.30pm

Trinity Wharf, 51 Dive Crescent (Trinity Rooms - 3 rooms opened into 1)

TAURANGA

Tues. 17th March

9.30am - 11.00am

East Bay REAP, Pohaturoa Room (Upstairs 2), Reap House, 21 Pyne St

WHAKATANE

Tues. 17th March

3.00pm - 4.30pm

SUNCOURT HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, 14 Northcroft St

TAUPO

Weds. 18th March

9.30am -11.00am

Holiday Inn Rotorua, Corner Froude & Tyron Streets (Totara Room)

ROTORUA

Weds. 18th March

1.30pm - 3.00pm

Central North Island Kindergarten Association, 6 Glenshea St

PUTARURU

Weds. 18th March

5.00pm - 6.30pm

St John Ambulance, 11 Kakamutu Rd

OTOROHANGA

Thurs. 19th March

9.30am -5.00pm (full day)

Kingsgate Hotel Te Rapa, 100 Garnett Ave, Te Rapa

HAMILTON

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