Archive for 'employment'

A new Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill introduced

Posted by:

This February, the Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill was introduced to Parliament with the express purpose to:

“eliminate and prevent discrimination, on the basis of sex, in the remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment, and in doing so, promote enduring settlement of claims relating to sex discrimination on pay equity grounds.”

The Minister for Women, has promoted the Bill as setting a real foundation for change, with it stripping away hurdles for claims, after a Joint Working Group ...

Continue →

Categories: articles, Blog, employment

Tags: ,

Employer rights and obligations regarding union access to workplaces

Posted by:

With the Employment Relations Amendment Bill proposing to roll back the clock on many aspects of union rights in the workplace, it is timely to consider the law presently, and what are employer rights and obligations regarding union access in the workplace.

The rights of Union representatives to access workplaces

Section 20 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 provides the right for union representatives to have access to workplaces to:

  • Discuss union business with its members;
  • Recruit new union members;
  • Provide union information to any ...
Continue →

Categories: Blog, employment

Tags: ,

Workplace family violence action

Posted by:

On 25 November, we acknowledged White Ribbon Day, the international day for the elimination of men’s violence against women. Given the high levels of domestic violence in New Zealand, and its devastating impact, is timely that we consider the Victims’ Protection Bill introduced into Parliament earlier this year by Green Party MP, Jan Logie, to help employees who are victims of domestic violence.

The unusual circumstance of unanimous Parliamentary support for the Bill in its first reading is demonstrative of the ...

Continue →

Categories: articles, employment, news

Tags: , , ,

Anonymous accusations and the use of secret witnesses

Posted by:

This article outlines employer obligations to provide all relevant information to an employee who is the subject of an employment investigation, including the details of a complaint and the identity of complainants and witnesses.

Natural Justice

In almost all circumstances, natural justice will require that an employer identify the individual who raised a complaint or was a witness to an incident.

An employer conducting a disciplinary or performance investigation is guided by a number of obligations, set out in the Employment Relations Act.  ...

Continue →

Categories: employment

Tags: , , , ,

The Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill fails to deliver

Posted by:

The Government’s introduction of the Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill, following a multi-billion dollar settlement with aged care and disability support workers, has rightly attracted significant criticism.  In this article, we explain why.

Background

The recent Care and Support Workers Equal Pay Settlement Agreement (following the “Terranova” litigation), and related legislation, resolved litigation pursued by support workers within the aged care, disability and home and community support sector.  Led by the unions on behalf of claimant Kristine Bartlett, it was ...

Continue →

Categories: articles, employment

Tags: ,

Page 2 of 8 12345...»