Recent news
Latest items of recent news relevant to New Zealand as reported in our fortnightly newswire ‘Dernières nouvelles’.
New Zealand: Government accepts Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommendations
The government has accepted all the principal recommendations of the Holidays Act Taskforce …
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New Zealand: 2022 Matariki holiday date announced
A new national public holiday, Ngā Mata o te Ariki (more commonly known as Matariki) has been announced and will be initially celebrated on Friday, 24th June 2022 …
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New Zealand: Minimum wage rising to $20 per hour from 1 April 2021
With effect from 1st April 2021, the adult minimum wage will rise by 5 …
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New Zealand: Alcohol or drugs testing methods
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has issued a “determination” on the right of an employee to choose the method used to undertake alcohol and/or drugs testing …
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New Zealand: Do you intend to join a union?
Numerous employers are still not complying with obligations that came into force back in 2019 …
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New Zealand: Bill introduced to support workers with 10 days sick leave
A parliamentary Bill has just been presented by the government to expand maximum statutory sick leave entitlements from 5 days to 10 days a year …
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New Zealand: Government increases support for New Zealanders to work in seasonal jobs
To help unemployed New Zealanders take on seasonal work, the government will now help with accommodation costs up to $200 (US$142) per week for up to 13 weeks and offer a $1,000 (US$711) incentive for workers who remain in their new jobs for 6 weeks or longer …
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New Zealand: Unilever explores four-day working week
The Consumer goods giant Unilever will be experimenting, from December 2020 to December 2021, with a four-day working week in New Zealand …
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New Zealand: 39% personal tax rate legislation introduced
Those in the top 2% of incomes will be affected by a new 39% personal tax rate on annual incomes over $180,000 (US$127,857) …
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New Zealand: New vaping laws
Although it was passed by parliament in August, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 has only just come into force …
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New Zealand: Skills Match Report changes
Employers are now no longer required to obtain a Skills Match Report from Work and Income to fill an occupation that is on either the undersupply or oversupply lists – although they will still need to demonstrate that they primarily want to recruit a New Zealander, and are hiring a migrant as a last resort …
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New Zealand: Trial and probationary periods
In light of the recent general election outcome, it remains uncertain whether larger employers will ever see the return of 90-day trial periods …
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New Zealand: Early return to work while on parental leave
Normally, an employee on parental leave may only return to work on a paid basis for short “keeping in touch” periods that collectively should not exceed 64 hours …
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New Zealand: Cannabis referendum
Employers need to start working on their drug misuse policies ahead of the coming referendum on New Zealand’s Cannabis Legislation and Control Bill …
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New Zealand: Balance of convenience defence
A health and safety case before the Employment Court of New Zealand, assessed last month for interim reinstatement, illustrates very well the opposing views where a Site Supervisor ignored safety-critical procedures for heavy processing equipment and was consequently dismissed …
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