ARE YOUR OVERSEAS WORKERS ENTITLED TO WORK?
If you employ overseas workers, changes to the Immigration Act that came into effect on 29 November 2010 will have an impact on your obligations in the future.
The main change for employers is that the receipt of a completed tax code declaration form will no longer be a reasonable excuse for employing a person not entitled to work in
90 DAY TRIAL PERIOD
Changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Holidays Act 2003 were passed by Parliament in November 2010.
As of 1 April 2011 trial period provisions apply to all employers, regardless of the number of employees in the business. Employers are able to employ new employees on a trial period of up to 90 calendar days.
Any trial period must be agreed to by the employer and employee in good faith and in writing as part of the employment agreement. The employer and employee must both bargain in a fair way about a proposed trial period before the new employee begins work. This includes considering and responding to any issues raised by the new employee.
An employer and employee may agree to a trial period only if the employee has not previously been employed by the employer.
If any employment relationship problem arises during the trial period, or if the employee is dismissed, the employee and the employer can access mediation services.
An employee who is given notice of dismissal before the end of a trial period cannot raise a personal grievance on the grounds of unjustified dismissal.
He or she may, however, raise a personal grievance on other grounds, such as discrimination or harassment or an unjustified action by the employer that disadvantaged the employee.
If an employee agrees to a trial period, this does not affect his or her entitlements to holidays and leave.
If I am an employee, will the trial period apply to me?
From 1 April 2011, any employer can provide you with an offer of employment that includes a trial period. A trial period is voluntary, and must be agreed to in writing and negotiated in good faith as part of your employment agreement. The written employment agreement should be signed by both you and your employer at the beginning of your employment relationship. You can request a copy of the signed agreement from your employer at any time.
You and your employer must both bargain in a fair way about a proposed trial period. This includes the employer considering and responding to any issues raised by you.
If I am an employer, will I be able to offer a trial period to new employees?
From 1 April 2011, any employer can offer trial periods to new employees. Any trial period that you agree to with a new employee must be agreed to in writing and negotiated in good faith as part of his or her employment agreement. The written employment agreement should be signed by both you and your employee at the beginning of your employment relationship. You are required to retain a signed copy of the employment agreement and to provide a copy of the agreement on request from your employee.
You and the employee must both bargain in a fair way about a proposed trial period. This includes considering and responding to any issues raised by the new employee.
When does notice have to be given?
Notice must be given within the trial period, even if the actual dismissal doesn’t become effective until after the trial period ends.
How many times can I agree to a trial period?
An employer and employee may agree to a trial period only once. If an employee has previously been employed by the employer, they may not agree to a trial period. For example, if an employee was employed for six months in 2009 and then applies for a position with that same employer in 2011 they cannot agree to a trial period.
What services are available if there is a problem during the trial period?
If any employment relationship problem arises during the trial period, the employee and the employer can access mediation services. In addition, while the employee cannot pursue a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal if the employee is given notice of dismissal during the trial period, a personal grievance may be pursued on other grounds such as discrimination, harassment or an unjustified action by the employer that disadvantages the employee.
If you have further questions or concerns related to trial periods that are not covered by the information here, please visit the Department of Labour website: http://www.ers.govt.nz
2011 CFO
This year’s
More than 250 business experts and top CFO’s came together to look at financial performance, innovation and the role of the CFO in implementing strategy and delivering business results. The CFO Summit is also a time to honour
Datacom PaySystems has taken part as an exhibitor along with numerous other vendors.
Visit Datacom People on Facebook and see some pictures of our exhibition booth and the sales team in action at this intensive one-day summit.
DATACOM CHAIRMAN RECOGNISED IN NZ NEW YEAR HONOURS
The Chairman of the Datacom Group, John Holdsworth, has been recognised in the New Year honours as an officer of the
The award is acknowledgment for his services to business and the community.
Mr Holdsworth has been Chairman of Datacom since 1988 and is the majority shareholder. He was responsible for establishing the company’s community and social responsibility programme with the company contributing to many organisations in the region including the Victoria University of Wellington eGovernment Chair,
Opera Queensland and the Community Technology Centre in
He has served on the national executive of IHC New Zealand for many years and was behind the first IHC Computer Assisted Learning centre in 2002.
Mr Holdsworth also has a long involvement with Special Olympics New Zealand which has resulted not only in the company contributing IT hardware and “know-how” but also staff volunteering their time to the many sporting events around the country.
EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES
As of April 1, there are a number of significant employment law changes, many of which are said to give you, the employer an advantage. If you want to obtain the full benefit of those changes, you may need to review and amend your current employment agreements.
You can now employ new employees under a 90-day trial period regardless of the number of employees you have. These new provisions will help with performance-related dismissal procedures within that 90-day period. However, there are strict requirements around these “grievance-free” dismissal provisions, including making sure your new employee signs a written employment agreement with a “compliant” 90-day trial period before they start work.
The Employment Relations Act has always required employees to be provided with a written employment agreement. However, from June 1, a greater responsibility will be placed on you to ensure there is a written employment agreement in place and that you retain either a copy of the signed agreement or, if unsigned, the intended agreement, for the duration of your employee’s employment. You can face significant penalties if you refuse to do this.
HYUNDAI
Hyundai New Zealand is the only large automotive brand in the country that is fully owned by New Zealanders, this also extends to their entire dealer network.
Hyundai brand goes from strength to strength, so has its organisation. So now, wherever you are in Aotearoa, specialist Hyundai service and support is close by –
it is owned and operated by someone in your community. Because Hyundai New Zealand is a 100% fully Kiwi-owned and operated company, they take immense pride in being able to support the organisations and people like you and I that make this country a great place to live.
Hyundai New
Hyundai Motors has been utilising
To find out more about Hyundai New
Give us a call and find out that time IS the greatest luxury in life.