Trends in employment law in 2019 and what's in store for 2020
The legal landscape is constantly shifting. As employment law changes, employers need to keep abreast of the changes and adopt best management practices that are compliant.
The Employment Law Team at leading law firm Anthony Harper deal with the full spectrum of employment law matters and are experts in their field. Anthony Harper urges anyone who engages staff to stay up to date with employment law changes and seek legal advice if unsure.
Here are some of the trends from 2019 and future challenges which employers may face in 2020:
PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR BREACHING EMPLOYMENT LAW
This year we have seen MBIE taking steps to hold individuals personally liable for employment law breaches. Over the past year, MBIE have taken 19 cases to the Employment Relations Authority, or Employment Court, resulting in total awards of $259,083 in wage and holiday pay arrears and $475,176 in penalties to be paid personally by individuals. MBIE has also set up a debt collection unit targeting employers and individuals who have ignored orders to compensate workers. This trend is one we expect to see continue into 2020.
Directors, senior managers or business advisors generally do not expect to be held personally responsible for a business they're connected with, if that business breaches employment standards.
Over t
A ruling of the Employment Relations Authority in April this year found three individuals (two parents and their daughter) had personally breached employment laws at two restaurants in Christchurch. Of the three individuals, one was a director, both parents were shareholders and the third family member was neither a director nor a shareholder but a manager with specific duties such as rosters and payroll. She was found to have considerable influence over management and administration, and was therefore found liable along with her parents.
The breaches included failing to provide employment agreements and failing to pay minimum wage, holiday pay and leave entitlements. The individuals were given 28 days to pay $41,688.56 in arrears to the workers.
COMPENSATION LEVELS AWARDED BY EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS AUTHORITY AND THE EMPLOYMENT COURT IN 2019
In mid-2019 Employment New Zealand released figures of compensation awarded for personal grievance claims by the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court, for the first half of 2019, via its Cost Award Table. Claims were for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to the feelings of the employee.
Compensation was awarded for 68 claims during the period of January to June 2019, an eight per cent decrease in the number of claims awarded compensation during the same period in 2018. However, the claims awarded were at a higher level than 2018. 16 per cent of claims awarded were more than $25,000 in the first half of 2019, compared to the 4 per cent in the 2018 period.
NEW ZEALAND'S UPCOMING FAIR PAY AGREEMENT
Following a report that was presented in December 2018, there has been a long period of no action with regards to moving towards any decision on Fair Pay Agreements and what they might look like.
However, a discussion paper was published in October 2019 inviting feedback on the options and design of a new system that would allow workers and employers to negotiate minimum terms and conditions across sectors. A Fair Pay Agreement would be a set of occupation and sector-specific minimum employment standards, such as wages, redundancy, or overtime. These would be agreed through bargaining between affected workers and employers, and would then become legal requirements in that sector.
This consultation closed on 27 November 2019 and so we wait to see if draft legislation will follow.
CONTRACTORS' RIGHTS
Another potential change to watch is the Government's discussion paper on better protections for contractors. This was published on the 26 November 2019 and is open for feedback until 14 February 2020. Matters to be covered include:
- Deterring employers from misclassifying workers as contractors and not employees
- Making it easier for workers to access a determination of their employment status
- Changing who is an employee under New Zealand law
- Enhancing protections for contractors without making them employees.
Retreived From: Stuff.co.nz