With COVID-19 in mind and the importance of employees staying home when sick so as to not spread illness to others, the Government has recently passed the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill in order to double the availability of mandatory employer-funded sick leave for employees.  The new legislation will come into effect on 24 July 2021.  After that date, employees will become entitled to 10 days’ sick leave on their next entitlement date.

So what does this mean practically?

  • New employees after 24 July 2021 will receive 10 days’ sick leave as soon as they become entitled to sick leave, which is six months after starting their employment.  For example, an employee employed in August 2021 will become entitled to 10 days sick leave in February 2022, being six months later.
  • Existing employees, who already are entitled to sick leave when the legislation comes into force, will become entitled to 10 days’ sick leave on their next entitlement date. Their entitlement date is their anniversary date on which they first became entitled to sick leave.  For example, an employee who has a sick leave anniversary date of April, will have to wait until April 2022 to receive their 10 days, given their entitlement date pre-dates 24 July 2021.  However, an employee with an anniversary date of August 2021, will receive 10 days sick leave in August 2021.
  • If an employer already provides their employees with an entitlement to 10 or more sick leave days a year, the employee will not be affected by this change and will not receive any more sick leave.
  • The entitlements for employees are still carried over if unused, up to a maximum of 10 sick days per year (rather than 15 under the current legislation) and can be accumulated up to 20 days (which is the same total amount employees were already able to accrue up to, prior to the upcoming law change).

So what should employers do as a result of this change?

For new employees after 24 July 2021, they should be provided with an Individual Employment Agreements (IEAs) which reflects the change.

Whether existing employment agreements need to be amended really depends on whether these contradict the new law and, more especially, conflict with it.  Even if they do, some employment agreements already provide that they are varied by the terms of any legislative changes.  In any case, the changes are minimum statutory entitlements which cannot be contracted out of, meaning that employers need to comply, regardless of whether the employment agreement is less favourable to the employee than the upcoming change.

Employers should also check their payroll systems to make sure that they have been updated to reflect the changes, after 24 July 2021.

Finally, employers should also expect further changes regarding sick leave, as the Government has also recently begun to work on further recommendations which includes a proposal for employees to be able to access some sick leave from the first day of their employment, as opposed to only being eligible for sick leave after 6 months.  This legislation is expected to be introduced in early 2022.

This article is not a substitute for legal advice and you should consult your lawyer about your specific situation. Please feel free to contact us at Parry Field Lawyers:

On Friday the 18th of June we had our Impact Sector Update call and the link to the video is now here.  The aim here is to connect and encourage those involved in impact of various kinds. Thanks to those who shared variety of stories which was awesome to hear and gave a real taste of some of the good that is being done across the country.  The next call will be on Friday 20 August – feel free to pass this article on to others who may be interested or it is posted here on Linked In to tag people, and note resources and links down below.

 

Key points:

  • 00:00  Welcome from Steven Moe
  • 01:26  Sarah Grant on Kia Kotahi Ako Trust (info below)
  • 06:13  Erica Austin on the upcoming Aotearoa SDG Summit Series (info below)
  • 12:39  Courtney Ennor on Supergenerous, helping claim back tax rebates (info below)
  • 17:55  Francesca Ephraim with a Charities Services update (info below)
  • 21:34  Heidi Quinn on National Volunteering Week (on now) – “Recognise, connect, reimagine…”
  • 23:22  Intro to Breakout rooms
  • 24:27  Reporting back from each of the groups in breakouts on key trends (such as …. watch to find out).
  • 36:41  End

Info on what was mentioned on the call by the speakers

  • Kia Kotahi Ako: solving otherwise impossible problems through education and learning.   Focusing on incubating community projects that are tackling climate change and wellbeing.  ASKS: we’d love to hear from any funders who are interested in this kaupapa. We’ve raised $80k out of our first $400k. Also keen to connect with other projects in this area to see how we can collaborate and do more together. Sarah@kiakotahi.org
  • Supergenerous information pack is attached to this email.  Supergenerous is a digital service that automates the process of claiming donation rebates. Requiring just a couple of minutes from donors to sign up — they can effortlessly regift 33% of their past donations back to the charities they support. Courtney can be reached at partners@supergenerous.co.nz if you have questions.
  • The 2021 Aotearoa SDG Summit is coming to Ōtautahi Christchurch on 2 – 3 September! Want to be a part of an epic two-day Summit event at the University of Canterbury, focused on connecting, learning, and collaborating for urgent systemic change? Early Bird Tickets are now live – get yours at ly/2021sdgsummit before 24 June and get free access to Online Hui #3!  You’ll be inspired with two days of participant-led sessions, workshops, creative stations, activations and field trips, plus fill your stomach & soul at the Community Feast dinner.  What does 2030 look like to you? Head to bit.ly/2021sdgsummit for registration & all event details. All ticket prices are GST inclusive and 100% of profits from booking fees will be directed to giving the gift of education through our ticketing platform, Humanitix.

  • Charities Services update – A few updates from us:
    • We ran a webinar on 2 June about different structures charities can have. The video of that is now up on our website.
    • We also presented at a webinar run by CAANZ on 14 May about changes to trust law.
    • We’re publishing new content on our website. We just put a new page up about other legal obligations for charities. We’re also planning to add and update pages and resources on our website over the next little while.
    • Our June newsletter is going to come out next week. Our big focus is National Volunteer week. But we’re also including governance links, busting some myths, and providing updates from wider government.
    • We’re looking at our engagement over the next year. If there are any significant events in your region that we could add value to, get in touch.

A few other things for your radar:

  • Catalist are a new initiative worth checking out here Catalist – a platform for growth – Colin will speak at the next catch up.  In summary, Catalist is a new type of stock exchange that makes it economical for SMEs and impact investments to be listed and raise funds from the general public.  Particularly for you looking at alternative funding models/social enterprise structures etc this could be worth looking into.
  • Francesca Ephraim passed on: 100 Diverse, Board-Ready Chairs and Directors, to properly reflect NZ society in the 21st century and to ensure all talent is in the board room. Diversity includes diverse thinking, socio-economic status, diverse professional backgrounds as well as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, religious beliefs and an intersection of those characteristics. See the Diverse Thinking Capability Audit of NZ Boardrooms published by the Superdiversity Institute in 2018 and an article from Stuff here.
  • Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand have sent info on an upcoming conference on Philanthropy in the Age of COVID-19: Asian and Global Perspectives. CLAANZ Chair, Professor Matthew Harding, is one of the keynote speakers.  No charge to attend – see email attached.
  • Link to the “Chairing the Board” series of four videos for community governance here.
  • National Volunteer Week info National Volunteer Week – Weaving The People Together
  • Charities Services just put out their latest newsletter which is here.
  • There are some more resources below the sign off but also in this email chain too so not repeating all of those here…
  • For those interested in agile contracts, just co-wrote an article for Stuff on what they are and how they can promote creativity and innovation with Louisa Taylor here.

Be watching out for next call in 2 months, and feel free to send on information that may be of interest

More relevant materials online sent to Nelson impact structuring seminar:

Doing Business in NZ guide: https://www.parryfield.com/guide-to-doing-business-in-new-zealand-second-edition/

Article on impact investing https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300169514/impact-investing-presents-opportunity-to-back-a-better-future-beyond-just-financial-gain

Impact Investing report from CSI https://www.centreforsocialimpact.org.nz/te-puaha-o-te-ako/2020/november/overview-of-impact-investing-in-aotearoa

My story in 6 minutes https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/global-citizenship–generational-legacy-and-kaitiakitanga

Stewardship options ownership report https://chapmantripp.com/media/yeemzo01/stewardship-models-new-zealand-2020.pdf

Article on role of charities https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300022484/charities-are-essential-yet-often-forgotten

Seeds Podcast with 250+ interviews and other info and videos I do www.theseeds.nz

Social Enterprise Book https://www.parryfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Social-Enterprises-in-NZ_Steven-Moe_978-0-473-41351-4.pdf

Charities and tough questions when thinking about change: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dt389lWtR5hPu6MZu1xaszAzO1IWCBdz/view

Guide for Churches: https://www.parryfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Churches-Legal-Handbook-1.pdf

Article on creatives and governance https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/22-06-2020/a-case-for-bringing-creatives-to-the-governance-table/

Article on new legal structures for purpose driven business https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-04-2019/ghost-enterprises-how-the-government-penalises-companies-who-do-good/

Structuring for Impact and legal structures in NZ report https://www.theimpactinitiative.org.nz/publications/structuring-for-impact