What are the pros and cons of offering voluntary redundancy?
Voluntary redundancy has been widely offered as part of the change proposals that are being reported in the public sector. But what are the pros
Voluntary redundancy has been widely offered as part of the change proposals that are being reported in the public sector. But what are the pros
Well, we are off to an interesting start to 2023, for those of us interested in minimum entitlements legislation. An Employment Court decision has ruled
Last December the Fair Pay Agreements Act come into force. This Act enables unions to negotiate the employment terms and conditions for whole industries or
A recent case by the Authority has warned against a rushed summary dismissal process even if the conduct or behaviour by an employee is serious
As we are coming into Summer and the holiday period, organisations are having their Christmas and social functions, and colleagues may be catching up after
Although the COVID restrictions in NZ have been removed, many people are still working from home some, if not most, days of the week. Remote/hybrid
It’s time for New Zealand’s media industry to make way for the Screen Industry Workers Bill, which introduces a collective bargaining framework that will allow
Once Labour Day has been [yes, believe it or not it’s this coming Monday], the next public holidays are at Christmas and New Year. It always feels like employers have to put a bit more thought into Christmas and New Year because: there are four public holidays; this is a time that many businesses have their annual closedown period; many employees take their annual leave; some employees don’t have enough leave to cover this period; some employment agreements have special rates for these public holidays; and, let’s face it, it is a busy busy busy time. In the next few weeks, my colleague, Tasneem Begum, and I will be offering a free webinar for those employers who want a bit more information around those tricky calculations for leave at this time of the year. We will also be able to answer the questions you have and the challenges you face with leave during the Christmas/New Year period. You are not alone with the questions you have – Questions we are often asked at this time of the year are about employing staff to cover the busy Christmas period
I have had one of those weeks where I have been in full day mediations virtually every day out of Auckland. What hit me at these mediations is the despair that people find themselves in by the time they arrive at my door. With varying degrees, all of these mediations had people in deep emotional turmoil. Anguish, frustration, anger and deep sadness, to the point where I had to pause to ensure the people were in the right space to make good decisions for themselves.
While we are conscious of the impact that inflation is having on wage and salary conversations, there are four other levers that have been, and are being, used to bring about fundamental change and significant uplift to pay in New Zealand. The Government is using these levers to drive increases in pay at various levels in ways that we may not be conscious of. However, when brought together as a single thread, they are having a big impact.
To mediate or not to mediate – that is the question… While William Shakespeare put into verse Hamlet’s soliloquy in endless agonising verse about dire choices with absolutely no chance of a happy ending – it is not so with mediation. Change the name, and the thinking around the word mediation. Let’s start thinking about it and calling it “an opportunity”. That’s really what mediation is; an opportunity for parties in conflict to come together and sort out their problem(s). It doesn’t have to be the only option, but it should be considered as a first step.
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