Employment law: what lies ahead? | NZBusiness Magazine | The Business Magazine For NZ SME – NZ Business

James Warren takes a look back at the changes in New Zealands employment law delivered in 2019, and shares his outlook for 2020.

Ongoing change is the notorious hallmark of New Zealand employment law, and 2019 maintained that reputation. We saw a number of fundamental revisions in the legal landscape the full implications of which are yet to be seen.

2020, as an election year, may have less legislative reform on the agenda, but the long term outlook remains set to changeable.

2019 in review

Here were the key legislative changes:

Major case law developments included:

Other changes of note from 2019 include:

Overall, the general picture has been one of increasing compliance risk and cost for employers.

Some 2020 horizon gazing

As highlighted above, the current Labour-led coalition government has introduced a range of reforms aimed at increasing the power of unions and further protecting employees. A number of significant proposals remain on the agenda, these include Fair Pay Agreements, new safeguards for migrant workers, and potential tax changes together with new protections for independent contractors.

The outcome of the general election scheduled in 2020 will likely determine whether these come to fruition. A National-led coalition could also be expected to reverse some of the recent reforms, but fundamental reform of the Employment Relations Act 2000 still currently seems unlikely.

The Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Act will come into force in June. This will implement a new right for employees of labour hire companies or who are otherwise working for a controlling third party separate from their employer to bring claims against those third parties.

Whatever the result of the general election, the Government is likely to support the general desire amongst employers for changes to the complex and opaque obligations imposed by the Holidays Act 2003. The present review of the Act is very likely to lead to it being amended or replaced, in an effort to simplify the calculations required to manage leave entitlements and pay.

Looking across the Tasman, numerous employee underpayment scandals have led to a focus on wage theft. New Australian legislation may impose criminal sanctions in this area, potentially having direct consequences for company groups which operate in both locations. Likewise, the recent introduction of the Australian Modern Slavery Act and its stronger whistleblowing protections may have an impact. These changes may also be pointers for future reform in New Zealand.

James Warren is a partner in the Employment team at Kensington Swan, with specialist experience supporting organisations in both the UK and New Zealand with workforce change, employee relations and disputes, and the employment issues arising out of commercial transactions.

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Employment law: what lies ahead? | NZBusiness Magazine | The Business Magazine For NZ SME - NZ Business