Changes to Employment Relations Act

Posted: 15th July 2011

There have been extensive changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 and Holidays Act 2003.  Most of the changes have been in force but one change applied from 1 July 2011 onwards:-

From 1 July 2011, employers must:-

• Retain a signed copy of an employee's individual employment agreement or the employee's current conditions of employment (as the case may be if there is no employment agreement in writing);
• Also retain copies of any intended agreement (even if the employee has not signed or agreed to it).
• Provide a copy of the individual employment agreement or intended agreement to the employee if so requested.

A breach of these requirements may result in a penalty (which has now doubled to $20,000 for a company).

We note that prior to 2 October 2000 there was no obligation to provide individual employees with agreements in writing unless the employee requested one.  However, now all employees not covered by a collective agreement must have their own individual employment agreement in writing, preferably signed, and those employed prior to 2 October 2000 must have, at least, a record of their terms of employment.

It may be a good idea to conduct an employee audit process to ensure your procedures are within the requirements of the law.

If you have any queries regarding the above or would like our help conducting an employee audit, please contact James McQuaid on 09 308 4058 or james.mcquaid@tbag.co.nz